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HISTORY 



OP 



THE EXPEDITION 

UNDER THEL-Ct)MMAND OF 

CAPTAINS LEWIS AND CLARKE, 

TO 

THE SOURCES OF THE MISSOURI, THENCE ACROSS THE ROCITf 

MOUNTAINS, AND DOWN THE RIVER COLUMBIA TO THE 

PACIFIC OCEAN : PERFORMED DURING THE 

YEARS 1804, 1805, 1806, 

BY ORDER OF THE 

GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

PREPARED FOR THE PRESS 

BY PAUL ALLEN, ESQ. 

BEVI-SED, AND ABRIDGED BY THE OMISSION OF UMIMPORTANT DB- 
TAILS, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, 

BY ARCHIBALD M'vICKAR. 



IN TWO VOLUMES. 

VOL. II. 




N E \\ Y O R 



HARPER & BROTIIEILS,.--PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

18 8. 



A 



Entered, aocordi.g to Act of Congress, ;n the year 1842, oy 

Habper &■ Brothers, 
I. the Clerk's Offlce of tb. Sonthcm District of New TToit 



CONTENTS 

OP 

THE SECOND VOLUME. 



CHAPTER I. 

I he Party, after procuring Horses from the Shoshonees, proceed 
on their Journey through the Mountains.— Difficulties and 
Dangers of the Route.— Council held with another Band of the 
bhoshonees, of whom some Account is given.— They are re- 
duced to the Necessity of killing their Horses for Food.— Cap- 
tain Clarke, with a small Party, precedes the main Body in 
quest of Provisions, and is hospitably received by the Pierced- 
Mose Indians.— Arrival of the main Body among this Tribe 
with whom a Council is held.— They resolve to perform ihe 
Remainder of their Journey in Canoes.— Sickness among the 
Party.— They descend the Kooskooskee to its Junction with 
Lewis River, after passing several dangerous Rapids.— Brief 
Description of the Manners and Dress of the Pierced-Nose 
^"^'^"s P3gg 9 

CHAPTER H. 

Departure of the Party.-Description of an Indian Sweating, 
bath and Burial-place.— Dangerous Rapids.— Visits from the 
Indians, who manifest a pacific Disposition.— Description of the 
bokulk Tribe —Their Dress, and Manner of building Houses. 
—Their pacific Character.— Their Habits of Living.— Their 
Mode of boihng Salmon.- Vast Quantities of Salmon among 
the Sokulks.— Council held with this Tribe.— The Terror 
and Consternation excited by Captain Clarke.-Some Ac- 
count of the Pishquitpaws.— Their Mode of burying the Dead 

26 

CHAPTER HI. 

fhe Party in their Descent still visited by the Indians.— Le- 
page 8 River -Towahnahiooks River.— Indian Mode of stack- 
ing tish, and preparing them for Market.— Description of the 
threat b alls.— DeBcription of an Indian Canoe.— Alarm excited 
by an anticipated Attack from the Eheltoots.-Dangerous 
Rapid, called by the Indians The Falls.— Account of the la- 



IV CONTENTS. 

dian Houses in the Neighbourhood.— Another frigntful Rapid. 
— Some Account of the Chilluckittequaw Indians. — Captain 
Ciariie examines tlie Great Rapids. — Description of an Indian 
Burial-place. — The Rapids passed in Safety . . Page 59 

CHAPTER IV. 

First Appearance of Tide-water in the Columbia River.— The 
Quicksand River. — Some Account of the Skilloot Indians. — 
The Party pass the Coweliske River. — Some Account of the 
Wahkiacum Indians. — Arrival on the Borders of the Pacific. 
— Disagreeable and Critical Situation of the Party when first 
encamped. — Their Distress from incessant Torrents of Rain. 
—Exposed for thirty Days to this drenching Deluge, during 
which Time their Provisions are spoiled, and most of their 
few Articles of Merchandise destroyed. — Distress of the Party. 
— Adventure of Shannon, and his Danger from the Wahkia- 
cums. — Difficulty of finding a Place suitable for a permanent 
Encampment. — Visited by several Indians of different Tribes, 
on whom Medals were bestowed 83 

CHAPTER V. 

Extravagant Passion of the Nativea for blue Beads. — The Party 
in Search of a suitable Place for Winter-quarters. — Suffering 
from the Deluges of Rain. — Visits of the Indians. — Return of 
Captain Lewis, who reported that he had found a suitable 
Place for Wintering. — Captain Clarke goes with a Party to 
find a Place suitable for the Manufacture of Salt. — He is hos- 
pitably entertained by the Clatsops. — This Tribe addicted to 
Gambling. — Sickness of some of the Party, occasioned by the 
incessant Rains. — They form, notwithstanding, a permanent 
Encampment for their Winter-quarters .... 102 

CHAPTER VI. 

Captain Clarke continues his Route in Quest of the Whale. — 
Passes Clatsop River. — Perilous Nature of the Journey.— 
Grandeur of the Scenery. — Indian Mode of extracting Whale- 
oil. — The Life of one of Captain Clarke's Party preserved by 
the Kindness of an Indian Woman. — Short Account of the 
Chinnooks, Clatsops, Killamucks, and Lucktons. — Manner of 
Sepulture among the Chinnooks, Clatsops, &c. — Their Weap- 
ons of War and Hunting.— Their Mode of building Houses. — 
Their Manufactures and Cookery. — Their Canoes. — Great 
Dexterity in managing them 120 



A — 



CONTENTS. V 

CHAPTER VII. 

Farther Account of the Clatsops, Killamucks, and Chinnooks ; 
also of the Cathlamahs. — Their Custom of Flattening the 
Forehead. — Their Dress and Ornaments described. — Their 
Diseases. — The common Opinion that the Treatment of their 
Women is the Standard by which the Virtues of the Indians 
may be known, combated, and disproved by Examples. — 
The Respect entertained by these Indians for old Age, com- 
pared with the diiferent Conduct of those who subsist by the 
Chase. — Their Mode of Government. — Their Ignorance of ar 
dent Spirits, and their Fondness for Gambling. — Their Dex- 
terity in Traffic. — In what Articles their Traffic consists. — 
Their extraordinary Fondness for blue Beads, which form 
their circulating Medium Page 139 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Difficulty of procuring the Means of Subsistence. — They deter- 
mine to start on their Journey to the Mountains. — They leave 
with the Indians a written Memorandum, giving an Account 
of their having penetrated to the Pacific by the way of the 
Missouri and Columbia, and across the Rocky Mountains. — 
The Party commence their Return. — Dexterity of the Cath- 
lamah Indians in Carving. — The Coweliskee River. — Hospi- 
tality of the Natives. — Instance of the extreme Voracity of the 
Vulture. — The Party are visited by many strange Indians, all 
of whom are kind and hospitable. — Scarcity of Game, and 
Embarrassments on that Account.— Captain Clarke discovers 
a Tribe not seen in the Descent down the Columbia.— Partic- 
ular Description of the Multnomah Village and River. — Mount 
Jefferson. — Captain Clarke's Account of the Neerchokio 
Tribe, and of their Architecture. — Their Sufferings from 
Smallpox 154 

CHAPTER IX. 

Description of Wappatoo Lsland, and of the Mode in which the 
Natives gather the Wappatoo Root.— Character of the Soil 
and its Productions. — Numerous Tribes residing in its Vicm- 
ity.— Probability that they were all of the Multnomah Tribe 
originally, inferred from Similarity of Dress, Manners, Lan- 
guage, &c. — Description of their Dress, Weapons of War, and 
Mode of burying the Dead.— Description of another Village, 
called the Wahclellah Village.— Their Mode of Architecture. 
— Extraordinary Height of Beacon Rock.— Unfriendly Char- 
acter of the Indians at that Place.— The Party, alarmed for 
their Safety, resolve to inflict summary Vengeance, in case 



VI CONTENTS. 

the Wahclellah Tribe persist in their Outrages and Insults — 
Interview with the Chief of that Tribe, and Confidence reato 
red. — Difficulty of drawing the Canoes over the Rapids. — 
Visited by a Party of the Yehugh Tribe. — Brief Notice of the 
Weocksockwillackum Tribe. — Curious Phenomenon observ- 
ed in the Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws 

Page 170 

CHAPTER X. 

Captain Clarke procures four Horses for the Transportation ot 
the Baggage. — Some farther Account of the Skilloot Tribe. — 
Their Joy at the first Appearance of Salmon in the Columbia. 
— Their thievish Propensities. — The Party arrive at the Vil 
lage of the Eneeshurs, where the Natives are found alike un- 
friendly. — The Party now provided with Horses. — Prevented 
from the Exercise of Hostility against this nation by a friendly 
Adjustment. — The Scarcity of Timber so great that they are 
compelled to buy Wood to cook their Provisions.— Arrive at 
the Wahhowpum Village. — Dance of the Natives. — Havingob 
tained their Complement of Horses, the Party proceed by Land. 
— Arrive at the Pishquitpah Village, and some Account of that 
People. — Frank and hospitable Conduct of the WoUawollahs. 
— Their Mode of Dancing described. — Their Mode of making 
Fish-wears. — Their amiable Character .... 188 

CHAPTER XL 

The Party pursue their Route towards the Kooskooskee. — They 
reach the Kinnooenim Creek. — Meet with an old Acquaint 
ance, called the Bighorn Indian.— Arrive at the Mouth of the 
Kooskooskee. — Difficulty of purchasing Provisions from the 
Natives, and new Device of the Party to obtain them. — Chopun- 
nish Style of Architecture.— Captain Clarke turns Physician, 
and performs several Experiments upon the Natives with Suc- 
cess. — Instance of their Honesty. — Distress of the Indians 
for want of Provisions during the Winter. — The Party finally 
meet Twisted Hair, to whom their Horses had been intrusted 
on their Journey down. — Quarrel between that Chief and an- 
other of his Nation, in regard to his Horses. — Causes of the 
Controversy stated at large. — The two Chiefs reconciled by 
the Interference of the Party, and the Horses restored. — Ex- 
traordinary Instanceof Indian Hospitality towards Strangers.— 
Council held with the Chopunnish, and the Object of the Ex- 
pedition explained. — The Party perform other medical Cures. 
— Answer of the Chopunnish to the Speech delivered at the 
Council, ratified by a singular Ceremony. — They promise 
faithfully to follow the Advice of their Visiters . . 205 



CJ)NTENTS. VU 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Party encamp among the Chopunnish, and receive farther 
Evidence of their Hospitality. — Indian Mode of boiling Bear's 
Flesh. — Of decoying the Deer within Reach of their Arrows. 
— Character of the Soil and Climate among the Rocky Mount- 
ains. — Varieties of Climate. — Character of the Natives. — 
Their Dress and Ornaments. — Mode of burying the Dead. — 
The Party administer medical Relief to the Natives. — One 
of the Natives restored to the Use of his Limbs by Sweat- 
ing, and the curious Process by which Perspiration was exci- 
ted. — Another Proof of Chopunnish Hospitality. — Success 
of their sweating Prescription on an Indian Chief. — Descrip- 
tion of the Horned Lizard and a Variety of Insects. — Attach- 
ment of the Friends of a dying Indian to a Tomahawk which he 
had stolen from the Party, and which they desired to bury with 
the Body. — Description of the River Tommanamah. — The In- 
dians return an Answer to a Proposition made by the Party 

Page 224 

CHAPTER XIII. 

They join in the Diversions of the Willetpos Indians, a Tribe hith 
erto unnoticed. — Joy of the Party at the prospect of Return- 
ing. — Vegetation of the Rocky Mountains, — Preparations to 
resume their Journey. — They set out, and arrive at Hungry 
Creek. — Difficulties that obstructed their Progress. — Com- 
pelled to return and wait for a Guide across the Mountains. — 
Their Distress for want of Provisions. — They resolve to re- 
turn to the Quamash Flats. — Are at last so fortunate as to 
procure Indian Guides, with whom they resume their Jour- 
ney. — Dangers of the Route. — Scarcity of Provisions, and the 
Perils to which they were exposed, their Course lying along 
the Ridge of the Mountains. — Description of the warm 
Springs, where the Party encamp. — Fondness of the Indians 
for bathing in them 238 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The Party, proceeding on their Journey with their Indian 
Guides, agree to divide, take separate Routes, and meet again 
at the Mouth of the Yellowstone River.— Captain Lewis, 
with nine Men, proceeds up the eastern Branch of Clarke's 
River, and takes leave of the Indian Guides.— Description of 
that Branch, and Character of the surrounding Country. — 
The Cokalahishkit River.— They arrive at the Ridge dividing 
the Missouri from the Columbia River. — Meet with the Buffalo 
and Brown Bear. — Immense Herds of Buffalo seen on the 
Borders of Medicine River.— The Party encamp on W^hite 



Viii • CONTENTS. 

Bear Island.-Singular Adventure that befell M'Neil.— Cap. 
tain Lewis, with three of his Party, proceeds to explore the 
Source of Maria's River.-Tansy River.-He reaches the di 
viding Line of these two Streams.-General Character of the 
surrounding Country ^^S^ '^^^ 

CHAPTER XV. 

Captain Lewis and his Party arrive at the Forks of Maria's 
River.- Alarmed by the Evidence of being in the Neighbour- 
hood of unfriendly Indians, and distressed or Want ot Fro- 
visions.-The unfavourable Weather compels them to return 
-Interview with the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie.-Mutual 
Consternation.- Resolution of Captain Lewis.- They en 
camp together for the Night.-Conversation which ensues — 
Conflict occasioned by the Indians attempting to seize the 
Rifles and Horses of the Party, in which one of tho former is 
mortally wounded.— Captain Lewis kills another Indian, arid 
his narrow Escape.-Having taken four Horses belonging to 
the Indians, they hasten to join the Party with Captain Clarke 
-Arriving near the Missouri, they are alarmed by the bound 
of Rifles, which fortunately proves to be from the Party undei 
Sergeant Ordway.-The two Detachments thus united, leave 
their Horses, and descend the Missouri in Canoes.— Continue 
their Route down the River to join Captain Clarke.- Vast 
Quantities of Game seen on their Passage.-Captam Lewis 
accidentally Wounded by one of his own Party.-They at 
length join Captain Clarke ^"' 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Party commanded by Captain Clarke proceed along 
Clarke's River.— Their sorry Commemoration of the 4th ol 
July .-Instance of Sacajawea's Strength of Memory.-De- 
scription of the River and of the surroundmg Country, as he 
Party proceed— Horses missing, and supposed to be stolen 
by the Indians.-They reach Wisdom River.- Extraordinary 
Heat of a Spring.-Fondness of the Party for Tobacco 
Sergeant Ordway recovers the Horses.-Captain Clarke di- 
vides his Party, one detachment to descend the l^iver.-l hey 
reach Gallatm and Jeff-erson Rivers.-Arrive at the Yelow- 
stone River.-Otter and Beaver Rivers.-Indian t ortihcation. 
-One of the Party accidentally wounded.-Lngaged in build- 
ing Canoes.-Twenty-four Horses stolen, probably by the In- 
dians "^ 



CONTENTS. 15? 



CHAPTER XVII. 

C&ptain Clarke proceeds down the River.— Description of an 
Indian Lodge.— Sergeant Pryor arrives with the Horses.— 
Remarkable Rock seen by Captain Clarke, and the Beauty 
of the Prospect from its Summit. — Yellowstone and Bighorr; 
Rivers compared. — Immense Herds of Buffalo. — Fierceness 
of the White Bear. — Encamp at the Junction of the Yellow- 
stone and Missouri.— General Outline given of the Yellowstone 
jiiver. — Sufferings of the Party from the Moschetoes. — Ser- 
geant Pryor arrives, and reports that the Horses were all 
stolen by the Indians.— In this Emergency they make Canoes 
of Skins, in which they descend the River over the most diffi- 
cult Shoals and Rapids.— Unexpectedly meet with two White 
Men, from whom they procure Intelligence in relation to the 
Indians formerly visited by the Party . . . Page 292 

CHAPTER XVni. 

Oaptain Clarke and his Party are overtaken by the Detachment 
under Captain Lewis, and they all descend the Missouri to- 
gether. — They revisit the Minnetaree Indians, and hold a 
Council with that Nation, as well as the Mahahas.— Captain 
Clarke endeavours to persuade their Chiefs to accompany him 
to the United States, which they decline on Account of their 
Fears of the Sioux in their Passage down the River. — Colter, 
one of the Party, requests and obtains Liberty to remain 
among the Indians, for the Purpose of hunting Beaver. — 
Friendly Deportment of the Mandans. — Council held by Cap- 
tain Clarke with the Chiefs of the different Villages. — The 
Chief named Big White, with his Wife and Son, agrees to ac- 
company the Party to the United States. — He takes an affect- 
ing Farewell of his Nation. — Chaboneau, with his Wife, de- 
clines going to the United States, and they are left among the 
Indians.— The Party at length proceed on their Route.— They 
arrive among the Ricaras.— Character of the Chayennes, their 
Dress, Habits, &c. — Captain Clarke offers a Medal to the 
Chief of this Nation, which he at first refuses, believing it to 
be Medicine, but which he is afterward prevailed on to ac- 
cept. — The Ricaras decline permitting one of their Number to 
accompany Captain Clarke to the United States, preferring to 
wait the Return of their Chief who had already gone. — The 
Party proceed rapidly down the River. — Prepare to defend 
themselves against the Tetons. — Incredible Number of Buffa- 
lo seen near White River. — They meet with the Tetons, and 
decline their Invitations to Land. — Intrepidity ®f Captain 
Clarke 308 

JI— B 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Party return in Safety to St. Louis . . . Page 32" 

APPENDIX. 

Farther Enumeration and Description of the Quadrupeds, Birds, 
Fishes, and Plants noticed during the Expedition . . 339 

Enumeration of Indian Nations, and their Places of general 
Residence 379 

A. Summary Statement of the Rivers, Creeks, and most re- 

■ markable Places, their Distances from each other and from 

the Mississippi, up the Missouri, across the Rocky Mountains, 

and down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, as determined 

by Captains Lewis and Clarke 387 



PLATES. 

Vol. I. Map of Lewis and Clarke's Roite. 

Ancient Fortification P«igc 87 

Cascade of the Missouri 223 

Falls and Portage 234 

Vol II. Great Falls of the Columbia .... 64 

Great Shoot and Rapid . .... 79 

Mouth of the Columbia ... .06 



LEWIS AND CLARKE'S 

EXPEDITION 

UP THE MISSOURI. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Party, after procuring Horses from the Shoshonees, proceed 
on their Journey through the Mountains. — Difficulties and 
Dangers of the Route. — Council held with another Band of 
the Shoshonees, of whom some Account is given. — They are 
reduced to the Necessity of killing their Horses for food. — Cap- 
tain Clarke, with a small Party, precedes the main Body in 
quest of Provisions, and is hospitably received by the Pierced- 
Nose Indians. — Arrival of the main Body among this Tribe, 
with whom a Council is held. — They resolve to perform the 
Remainder of their Journey in Canoes. — Sickness among the 
Party. — They descend the Kooskooskee to its Junction with 
Lewis River, after passing several dangerous Rapids. — Brief 
Description of the Manners and Dress of the Pierced-Nose 
Indians. 

" August 27. We were now occupied in determin- 
ing on our route and in procuring horses from the 
Indians. The old guide who had been sent on by 
Captain Clarke now affirmed, through our interpret- 
er, what he had already asserted of a road up Berry 
Creek, which would lead to Indian establishments 
on another branch of the Columbia: his reports 
were, however, contradicted by all the Shoshonees. 
This representation we ascribed to a wish on their 
part to keep us with them during the winter, as well 
for the protection we might afford them against their 
enemies, as for the purpose of consuming our mer- 



10 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

chandise among ihem ; and as the old man promis- 
ed to conduct us himself, the route indicated by him 
seemed to be the most eligible. We were able to 
procure some horses, though not enough for all our 
purposes. This traffic, and our councils with the 
Indians, consumed the remainder of the day. 

" August 28. The purchase of horses was resumed, 
and our stock raised to twenty-two. Having now 
crossed more than once the country which separates 
the head-waters of the Missouri from those of the 
Columbia, we can designate the easiest and most ex- 
peditious route for a portage. It is as follows : 

" From the forks of the river, north 60 degrees 
west, five miles, to the point of a hill on the right ; 
then south 80 degrees west, ten miles, to a spot 
where the creek is ten yards wide, and the highlands 
approach within two hundred yards ; southwest five 
miles, to a narrow part of the bottom ; then turning 
south 70 degrees west, two miles, to a creek on the 
right ; thence south 80 degrees west, three miles, to 
a rocky point opposite to a thicket of pines on the 
left ; thence west three miles, to the gap where is 
the fountain of the Missouri; on leaving this fount- 
ain, south 80 degrees west, six miles, across the di- 
viding ridge to a run from the right, passing several 
small streams north 80 degrees west, four miles, 
over hilly ground to the east fork of Lewis's River, 
which is here forty yards wide.* 

* Since the time of Lewis and Clarke, a far more practicable 
route has been discovered across the mountains, farther south, 
by ascending the Platte River instead of the Missouri. 

Mr. Parker, who left Council Bluffs with a party of the Amer- 
ican Fur Company in 1835, and crossed the Rocky Mountains 
by this southern route, says: "The passage through these 
mountains is in a valley so gradual in the ascent and descent, 
that I should not have known that we were passing them, had 
it not been that, as we advanced, the atmosphere gradually be 
came cooler ; and at length we found perpetual snows upon our 
right hand and upon our left, elevated many thousand feet above 
us, in some places ten thousand. The highest part of these 



PURCHASE OF HORSES. 11 

"August 29. Captain Clarke joined us this morn- 
ing, and we continued bargaining for horses. Thb 
late misfortunes of the Shoshonees have made the 
price higher than common, so that one horse cost us 
a pistol, one hundred balls, some powder, and a knife ; 
another was purchased with a musket ; and in thi?j 
way we finally obtained twenty-mne. The animals 
are young and vigorous, but very poor, and most of 
them have sore backs, in consequence of the rough- 
ness of the Shoshonee saddle. We are therefore 
afraid of burdening them too heavily, and are anx- 
ious to obtain one, at least, for each man, to carry 
the baggage or the man himself, or in the last re- 
source to serve as food ; but with all our exertions 
we are unable to provide all our men with horses. 
We have, however, been fortunate in obtaining for 
the last three days a sufficient supply of flesh, our 
hunters having killed two or three deer every day. 

" August 30. The weather was fine, and, having 
now made all our purchases, we loaded our horses 
and prepared to start. The greater part of the band, 
also, who had delayed their journey on our account, 
were ready to depart. We now took our leave of 
the Shoshonees, who set out on their visit to the 
Missouri at the same time that we, accompanied by 
the old guide, his four sons, and another Indian, be- 
gan the descent of the river, along the same road 
which Captain Clarke had previously followed." 

Before night they accomplished a distance of 

mountains is found by f»ieasurement to be eighteen thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. This valley was not discover- 
ed until a few years since. Mr. Hunt and his party more than 
twenty years ago went near it, but did not find it, though in 
search of some favourable passage. It varies in width from five 
to twenty miles ; and, followmg its course, the distance through 
the mountains is about eighty miles, or four days' journey. 
Though there are some elevations and depressions in this val- 
ley, yet, comparatively speaking, it is level. There would be no 
difficulty in the way of constructing a railroad from the Atlantic, t4 
the Pacific Ocean.'^ — Parker''s Journal, p. 72. 



12 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

twelve miles. The following day they found the 
valleys and prairies in different places on fire, as a 
signal to collect the different bands of Shoshonees 
and Flatheads, preparatory to their migration to the 
Missouri. On reaching Tower Creek, they diverged 
from the former route taken by Captain Clarke, and 
followed for four miles the course of Berry Creek. 
On the 1st of September, quitting Berry Creek, they 
turned to the northwest, and, after travelling eighteen 
miles across a hilly country, they arrived at Fish 
Creek, a considerable stream flowing into the Co- 
lumbia ; and, after going up this creek four miles, 
they encamped. The next morning all the Indiana 
left them except the old guide. In continuing to 
ascend Fish Creek, at the distance of seven and a 
half miles they found it divided into two branches, 
and the road they had been following turning to the 
east, and leading, as their guide informed them, to 
the Missouri. 

" We were therefore," proceeds the narrative, 
"left without any track; but, as no time was to be 
lost, we began to cut our road up the west branch of 
the creek. This we effected with much difficulty. 
The thickets of trees and brush through which we 
were obliged to cut our way required great labour : 
the road itself was over the steep and rocky sides 
of the hills, where the horses could not move with- 
out danger of slipping down, while their feet were 
bruised by the rocks and stumps of trees. Accus- 
tomed as these animals were to this kind of travel- 
ling, they suffered severely: several of them fell 
some distance down the sides of the hills, some 
turned over with the baggage, one was crippled, and 
two gave out, exhausted with fatigue. After cross- 
ing the creek several times, we at length made five 
miles with great fatigue and labour, and encamped 
on the left bank, in some stony, low ground." * * * 

"September 3. The horses were very stiff anc? 
w^eary. We sent back two men for the load of the 



DIFFICULTIES OF THE JOURNEY. 13 

horse wliich had been crippled jesterdny, and which 
we had been forced to leave two miles behind. On 
their return we set out at eight o'clock, and proceed- 
ed up the creek, making a passage through the brush 
and timber along its borders. The country gener- 
ally is well supplied with pine, and in the low 
grounds is a great abundance of fir-trees and under- 
brush. The mountains are high and rugged, and 
those to the east of us covered with snow. With 
all our precautions, the horses were very much in- 
jured in passing over the ridges and steep points of 
the hills, and, to add to the difficulty, at the distance 
of eleven miles the high mountains closed upon the 
creek, so that we were obhged to leave it to the 
right, and abruptly cross the mountain. The ascent 
was here so steep that several of the horses slipped 
and hurt themselves ; but at last we succeeded in 
getting across, and encamped on a small branch of 
Fish Creek. We had now made fourteen miles, in 
a direction nearly north from the river." * * * " At 
dusk it commenced snowing, and continued till the 
ground was covered to the depth of two inches, 
when it changed into a sleet. We here met with a 
serious misfortune, the last of our thermometers 
being broken by accident. After making a scanty 
supper on a little corn and a few pheasants killed in 
the course of the day, we laid down to sleep, and 
the next morning, 

" September 4, found everything frozen, and the 
ground covered with snow. We were obliged to 
wait some time, in order to thaw the covers of the 
baggage, after which we began our journey at eight 
o'clock. We crossed a high mountain, which forms 
the dividing ridge between the waters of the creek 
we had been ascending, and those running to the 
north and west. We had not gone more than six 
miles over the snow, when we reached the head of 
a stream from the right, which directed its course 
more to the west ; and, descending the steep sides 



14 LEWIS Ai\D CLARKE'S EXrEDlTION. 

of the hills along its border, at the distance of three 
miles found a small branch coming in from the east. 
We saw several of the argalia, but they were too 
shy to be killed, and we therefore made our dinner 
from a deer shot by one of the hunters. Then we 
pursued the course of the stream for three miles, 
till it emptied itself into a river from the east, in 
the wide valley at their junction we discovered a 
large encampment of Indians ; and on reaching 
them, and alighting from our horses, we were re- 
ceived with great cordiality. A council was imme- 
diately assembled, white robes were thrown over 
our shoulders, and the pipe of peace was introduced. 
After this ceremony, as it was too late to go any far- 
ther, we encamped, and continued smoking and con- 
versing with the chiefs till a late hour. The next 
morning, 

" September 5, we assembled the chiefs and war- 
riors, and informed them who we were, and the pur- 
pose for which we had visited their country. All 
this was, however, conveyed to them through so 
many different languages, that it was not compre- 
hended without difficulty. We therefore proceeded 
to the more intelligible language of presents, and 
made four chiefs by giving a medal and a small 
quantity of tobacco to each. We received in turn 
from the principal chief a present consisting of the 
skins of a blaireau (badger), an otter, and two ante 
lopes, and were treated by the women to some dried 
roots and berries. We then began to traffic for 
horses, and succeeded in exchanging seven and pur- 
chasing eleven, for which we gave a few articles of 
mf3rchandise. 

" This encampment consists of thirty-three tents, 
in which were about four hundred souls, among 
whom eighty were men. They are called Ootla- 
shoots, and represent themselves as one band of a 
nation called Tushepaws, a numerous people of four 
hundred and fifty tents, residing on the head-waters 



ACCOUNT OP THE OOTLASHOOTS. 15 

of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, and some of 
them lower down the latter river. In person these 
Indians are stout, and their complexion lighter than 
that common among Indians. The hair of the men 
is worn in queues of otter skin, falling in front over 
the shoulders. A shirt .of dressed skin covers the 
body to the knee, and over this is worn occasionally 
a robe. To these are added leggins and moccasins. 
The women suffer their hair to fall in disorder over 
the face and shoulders, and their chief article of cov- 
ering is a long shirt of skin, reaching down to the 
ankles, and tied round the waist. In other respects, 
as also in the few ornaments which they possess, 
their appearance is similar to that of the Shosho- 
nees : there is, however, a difference between the 
languages of these two people, which is still farther 
increased by the very extraordinary pronunciation 
of the Ootlashoots. Their words have all a remark- 
ably guttural sound, and there is nothing which 
seems to represent the tone of their speaking more 
exactly than the clucking of a fowl or the noise of 
a parrot. This peculiarity renders their voices 
scarcely audible, except at a short distance ; and, 
when many of them are talking, forms a strange 
confusion of sounds. The common conversation 
that we overheard consisted of low, guttural sounds, 
occasionally broken by a low word or two, after 
which it would relapse, and could scarcely be dis-* 
tinguished. They seemed kind and friendly, and 
willingly shared with us berries and roots, which 
formed their sole stock of provisions. Their only 
wealth is their horses, which are very fine, and so 
numerous that this party had with them at least five 
hundred. 

" September 6. We spent the morning with the 
Ootlashoots, from whom we purchased two more 
horses, and obtained a vocabulary of their language. 
They set off about two o'clock to join the different 
bands who were collecting at the Three Forks of 



16 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the Missouri, and we ourselves proceeded at the 
iame time. Taking a direction north 30° west, we 
crossed, within the distance of a mile and a half, a 
small river from the right, and a creek coming in 
from the north. The river is the main stream, and 
when it reaches the end of the valley where the 
mountains close in upon it, it is joined by the stream 
on which we encamped last evening, as well as by 
the creek just mentioned. To the river thus form- 
ed we gave the name of Clarke, he being the first 
white man who had ever visited its waters. At 
the end of five miles on this course we crossed the- 
valley, and reached the top of a mountain covered 
with pine : this we descended along the steep sides 
and ravines for a mile and a half, when we came to 
a spot on the river where the Ootlashoots had en- 
camped a few days before. We then followed the 
course of the stream, which is from twenty-five to 
thirty yards wide, shallow and stony, and the low 
grounds on its borders narrow. Within the distance 
of three and a half miles we crossed it several times ; 
and, after passing a run on each side, encamped on 
its right bank, having made ten miles during the af- 
ternoon. The horses were turned out to graze ; 
but those we had lately bought were secured and 
watched, lest they should escape, or be stolen by 
.their former owners. Our stock of flour was now 
exhausted, and we had but little corn ; and, as our 
hunters had killed nothing except two pheasants, 
our supper consisted chiefly of berries." 

The two following days they continued to follow 
the course of the river, being fortunate in procuring 
game, and encountering no particular difficulty. 
They were not a little annoyed, however, by the 
prickly pear, which, says the journalist, " grows here 
in clusters, is of an oval form, about the size of a 
pigeon's egg, and its thorns are so strong and beard- 
ed, that, when it penetrates our feet, it brings away 
the pear itself." Several horses were seen, which 



SCATTERING CREEK. 



17 



appeared to be in a wild state. They passed a small 
stream falling into the river, to which, from its hav- 
h'g several Channels, they gave the name of Scat- 

^^ » S^emember 9. We resumed our journey," con- 
tinues ^Harrat.ve, "through the valley an^^ 
iuff the road on our right, crossed Scattering Lreek 
nnd halted at the distance of twelve miles, on a 
smiu fu\f fro^n the east, -here we breakfasted on 
the remains of yesterday's hunt. )^e here took a 
meridian altitude, which gave the l^fude of 46o 41 
->«" • ifter which we proceeded on, and at the dis- 
a'nceirUr'miles pLsed over to the le" b-^^^^^^^ 
the river, where we found a large road through the 
vaney A^this place is a handsome stream of very 
clear'^wattr, a hundred yards wide, with low banks 

and a bed formed entirely o g^f f ; ^^^ ^^^"^,Ss 
appearance of being navigable ; bf, as it contains 
no salmon, we presume there must be f nie fall be- 
low which obstructs their passage. Our guide could 
noT inform us where this river discharged its waters 
H. said that, as far as he knew its course ,t ran 
along the mountains to the north, and that not far 
from our present position it was joined by another 
stream nearly as large as itself, rising in the mount- 
a nsTo the Lst, niar the Missouri, and flowing 
through an extensive valley or open prairie Through 
this prairie was the great Indian road to he waters 
of the Missouri ; and so direct was the route, that in 
fou days' jouriey from this place we might reach 
tSe Missouri about thirty miles above what we call- 
ed the Gates of the Rocky Mountains, or the spot 
where the valley of that river widens into an exten- 
^veplahr on entering the chain of i^ountains At 
ten miles from our camp was a small creek falhng 
n from the eastward; five miles below which we 
Lted on a large stream, which empt.es .tself on 
tho west side of the river. It is a fine, bold stream 
of clear water, about twenty yards wide, and we 



18 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

called it Traveller's-rest Creek ; for, as our guide 
told us that we should here leave the river, we de- 
termined to stop for the purpose of taking celestial 
observations and collecting some food, as the coun- 
try through which we were to pass had no game fo^ 
a great distance." * * * 

" September 10. The morning being fair, all the 
hunters were sent out, and the rest of the party em- 
ployed in repairing their clothes : two of them were 
despatched to the junction of the river from the east, 
along which the Indians go to the Missouri, and 
which is about seven miles below Traveller's-rest 
Creek." * * * 

"Towards evening one of the hunters returned 
with three Indians, whom he had met in his excursion 
up Traveller's-rest Creek. As soon as they saw him 
they prepared to attack him with arrows ; but he pa- 
cified them by laying down his gun, and, advancing 
towards them, soon persuaded them to come to the 
camp. Our Shoshonee guide could not speak the 
language of these people ; but, by the universal lan- 
guage of signs and gesticulations, which is perfectly 
intelligible among the Indians, he found that they 
were three Tushepaw Flatheads, in pursuit of two 
men, supposed to be Shoshonees. who had stolen 
twenty-three of their horses. We gave them some 
boiled venison and a few presents, such as a fish-hook, 
a steel to strike fire, and a little powder ; but they 
seemed best pleased with a piece of riband which we 
tied in the hair of each of them. They were in such 
haste, however, lest their horses should be carried 
off, that two of them set oflf after sunset in quest of 
the robbers ; but the third was persuaded to remain 
with us, and to conduct us to his relations. These, 
he said, were numerous, and resided on the' Colum- 
bia, in the plain below the mountains. From that 
place, he added, the river was navigable to the ocean , 
that some of his kinsmen had been there last fall, and 
seen an old white man, who resided there by himselfj 



CROSSINGS A. MOUNTAIN. 19 

and who gave them some handkerchiefs Uke those 
we have. The distance from this place was five 
sleeps, or days' journeys. When our hunters had all 
joined us, we found our provisions consisted of four 
deer, a beaver, and three grouse. The observation 
of to-day gave 46° 48' 28" as the latitude of Travel- 
ler's-rest Creek." 

They were detained the whole of the next morning 
to recover some of their horses which had strayed 
away, so that they advanced but seven miles during 
the remainder of the day. The Indian became im- 
patient to return home, and left them. 

" September 12. We proceeded," continues the 
Journal, " at seven o'clock, and soon passed a stream 
falling in on the right, near which was an old Indian 
camp, with a bath or sweating-house covered with 
earth. At two miles' distance we ascended a high 
bank, and thence passed through a hilly and thickly- 
timbered country for nine miles, when we came to 
the forks of the creek, where the road branches up 
each fork. We followed the western route ; and, 
finding that the creek made a considerable bend at 
the distance of four miles, crossed a high mountain 
in order to avoid the circuit. The road had been very- 
bad during the first part of the day ; but the passage 
over the mountain, which was eight miles across, 
was exceedingly trying to the horses, as we were 
obliged to go over steep, stony sides of hills, and 
along hollows and ravines, rendered still more troub- 
lesome by the fallen limber, chiefly pine, spruce-pine, 
and fir. We at length reached the creek, having made 
twenty-three miles on a route so difficult that some 
of the party did not join us before ten o'clock. We 
found the ac30unts of scantiness of game but too true, 
as we were not able to procure any during the whole 
of yesterday , and to-day we killed only a single pheas- 
ar.i. Along the road we observed many of the pine- 
trees peeled off", which is done by the Indians to pro- 
cure the inner bark for food in the spring. 



20 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

"September 13. Two of the horses strayed away 
during the night, and one of them being Captain 
Lewis's, he remained with four men to seek for them, 
while we proceeded up the creek. At the distance 
of two miles we came to several springs, issuing from 
large rocks of a coarse, hard grit, and nearly boiling 
hot. They seem to be much frequented, as there 
are several paths made by elk, deer, and other ani- 
mals, and near one of them there is a hole or Indian 
bath, besides roads leading in different directions. 
These embarrassed our guide, who, making a mis- 
take, took us three miles out of the proper course, 
over an exceedingly bad route. We then fell into 
the right road, and proceeded on very well, when, hav- 
ing made five miles, we stopped to refresh the horses. 
Captain Lewis here joined us; but, not having been 
able to find his horse, two men were sent back to 
continue the search." 

They advanced till the evening, and encamped 
on a stream to which they gave the name of Glade 
Creek. 

Starting early the next morning, they advanced 
along the right bank of Glade Creek, and at the dis- 
tance of six miles found it joined by another of equal 
size, coming from the right. " Here," says the 
Journal, " we passed over to the left side of the 
creek, and began the ascent of a very high and steep 
mountain, nine miles across. On reaching the oth- 
er side, we found a large branch from the left, which 
seems to rise in the Snowy Mountains to the south 
and southeast." * * * « The mountains we crossed 
to-day were much more difficult than those of yes- 
terday : the last was particularly fatiguing, being 
steep and stony, broken by fallen timber, and thick- 
ly overgrown by pine, spruce, fir, hacmataok, and 
tamarac. Although we had made only seventeen 
miles, we were all very weary. Our whole stock 
of animal food was now exhausted, and we there- 
fore killed a colC, on which we made a hearty sup- 



THE KOOSKOOSKEE RIVER. 21 

per. From this incident we called the last creek 
we had passed from the south Colt-killed Creek. 
The river itself is eighty yards wide, with a swift 
current and a stony channel. Its Indian name is 
Kooskooskee. 

" September 15. At an early hour we proceeded 
along the right side of the Kooskooskee, over steep, 
rocky points of land, till at the distance of four 
miles we reached an old Indian fishing-place. The 
road here turned to the right of the river, and began 
to ascend a mountain ; but the wind and the fire had 
prostrated or scorched almost all the timber on the 
south side, and the ascents were so steep that we 
were forced to wind in every direction round the 
high knobs, which constantly impeded our progress. 
Several of the horses lost their foothold and slip- 
ped: one of them, which was loaded with a desk 
and small trunk, rolled over and over for forty yards, 
till his fall was stopped by a tree. The desk was 
broken, but the poor animal escaped without much 
injury. After clambering in this way for four miles, 
we came to a high, snowy part of the mountain, 
where was a spring of water, at which we halted 
two hours to refresh our horses. 

" On leaving the spring the road continued as bad 
as it was below, and the timber more abundant. At 
four miles we reached the top of the mountain, and, 
foreseeing no chance of meeting with water, we en- 
camped on the northern side, near an old bank of 
snow three feet deep. Some of this we melted, 
and supped on the remains of the colt killed yester- 
day. Our only game to-day was two pheasants ; 
and the horses, on which we calculated as a last re- 
source, began to fail us, for two of them were so 
poor and worn out with fatigue that we were obli- 
ged to leave them behind. All around us were high, 
rugged mountains, among which was a lofty range 
from southeast to northwest, whose tops were with- 
out timber, and in some places covered with snow 



22 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

The night was cloudy and very cold, and three hours 
before daybreak, 

" September 16, it began to snow, and continued 
all day, so that by evening it was six or eight inch- 
es deep. This covered the track so completely 
that we were obliged constantly to halt and exam- 
ine, lest we should lose our way. In many places 
we had nothing to guide us except the branches of 
the trees, which, being low, have been rubbed by 
the burdens of the Indian horses. The road was, 
like that of yesterday, along steep hillsides obstruct- 
ed with fallen timber, and having a growth of eight 
different species of pine, standing so thick that the 
snow fell from them as we passed, and kept us con- 
tinually wet to the skin, and so cold that we were 
anxious lest our feet should be frozen, as we had 
only thin moccasins to defend them. 

" At noon we halted to let the horses feed on 
some long grass on the north side of the mount- 
ain, and endeavoured, by making fires, to keep our- 
selves warm. As soon as the horses were refresh- 
ed, Captain Clarke went ahead with one man, and 
at the distance of six miles reached a stream from 
the right, and prepared fires by the time of our arri- 
val at dusk." * * * " We were all very wet, cold, 
and hungry : although before setting out this morn- 
ing we had seen four deer, we could not procure any 
of them, and were obliged to kill a second colt for 
our supper." 

The two following days they encountered similar 
difficulties from the ruggedness of the country and 
the absence of game, so that they were obliged to 
kill another colt for their subsistence. On the even- 
ing of the 18th they encamped, after a fatiguing 
day's journey of eighteen miles. *' We now," contin- 
ues the Journal, " melted some snow, and supped on 
a little portable soup, a few canisters of which, with 
about twenty pounds of bears' oil, are our only re- 
maining means of subsistence. Our guns are scarce- 



HUNGRY CREEK 23 

fy of any service, for there is no living creatui'e in 
these mountains, except a few small pheasants, a 
small species of gray squirrel, and a blue bird of the 
vulture kind, about the size of a turtle-dove or jay, 
and even these are difficult to shoot." 

Captain Clarke, meanwhile, had proceeded in ad- 
vance of the party, with six hunters, for the purpose 
of procuring game. In this, however, they were 
wholly unsuccessful ; and, without anything to eat, 
they encamped in the evening on the banks of a 
stream, to which they gave the appropriate name of 
Hungry Creek. 

" September 19. Captain Clarke proceeded up the 
creek, along which the road was more steep and 
stony than any he had yet passed. At six miles' 
distance he reached a small plain, in which he for- 
tunately found a horse, on which he breakfasted, 
and hung the rest on a tree for the party in the rear. 
Two miles beyond this he left the creek and cross- 
ed three high mountains, rendered almost impassa- 
ble from the steepness of the ascent and the quantity 
of fallen timber. After clambering over these ridg- 
es and mountains, and passing some branches of 
Hungry Creek, he came to a large creek running 
westward. This he followed for four miles, then 
turned to the right down the mountain, till he came 
to a small creek to the left. Here he halted, having 
made twenty-two miles on his course, south 80 de- 
grees west, though the winding route over the 
mountains almost doubled the distance. On de- 
scending the last mountain, the heat became much 
more sensible, after the extreme cold he had expe- 
rienced for several days past." 

The main party advanced eighteen miles over 
mountains and along narrow, dangerous paths, and 
encamped for the night on a branch of Hungry Creek. 
They killed no game, and their only refreshment 
during the day was a little portable soup. From fa- 
tigue and want of food they were becoming much 
enfeebled, and dvsentery began to prevail. 

n.— c 



24 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" September 20. Captain Clarke went on through 
a country as rugged as before, till, on passing a low 
mountain, at the distance of four miles he came 
to the forks of a large creek. Down this he pro- 
ceeded on a course south 60 degrees west for two 
miles, then turning to the right, continued over a 
dividing ridge, where were the heads of several lit- 
tle streams, and at twelve miles' distance descend- 
ed the last of the Rocky Mountains, and reached the 
level country. A beautiful open plain, partially 
supplied with pine, now presented itself. After pro- 
ceeding five miles, he discovered three Indian boys, 
who, on observing the party, ran off and hid them- 
selves in the grass. Captain Clarke immediately 
alighted, and, giving his horse and gun to one of the 
men, went after the boys. He soon relieved their 
apprehensions, and sent them forward to the village, 
about a mile off, with presents of small pieces of 
riband. Soon after they reached home a man came 
out to meet the party, but with great caution : he 
conducted them to a large tent in the village, and all 
the inhabitants gathered round to view with a mix- 
ture of fear and pleasure the wonderful strangers. 
The conductor now informed Captain Clarke, by 
signs, that the spacious tent he was in was the res- 
idence of the great chief, who had set out three 
days ago, with all the warriors, to attack some of 
their enemies towards the southwest ; that he would 
not return before fifteen or eighteen days, and that 
in the mean time there were only a few men left to 
guard the women and children. They now set be- 
fore them a small piece of buffalo meat, some dried 
salmon, berries, and several kinds of roots. Among 
these last was one which was round, much like an 
onion in appearance, and sweet to the taste ; its 
name is quamash, and it is eaten either in its natu- 
ral state, boiled into a kind of soup, or made into a 
cake, when it is called -pasheco. After their long 
abstinence this was a sumptuous treat. They re- 



ILLNESS OF CAPTAIN CLARKE. 25 

turned the kindness of the people by a few small 
presents, and then went on, in company with one 
of the chiefs, to a second village in the same plain, 
at the distance of two miles. Here they were treat- 
ed with great kindness, and passed the night. The 
hunters were sent out, but, though they saw some 
tracks of deer, were unable to procure anything." 

Captain Lewis, with the main party, had proceed- 
ed about two miles, when they fortunately found 
the remainder of the horse left by Captain Clarke 
and also a note signifying his intention to descend 
into the plains to the southwest in search of pro- 
visions. One of their horses, with a valuable load, 
was missing, and two men were sent to find him. 
Their general course was south 25° west, through 
a dense forest of large pine, and they advanced fif- 
teen miles before encamping. 

" On descending the heights of the mountains," 
continues the Journal, " the soil becomes gradually 
more fertile, and the land through which we passed 
this evening is of an excellent quality. It has a 
dark gray soil, though very broken, and with large 
masses of gray freestone above the ground in many 
places. Among the vegetable productions we dis- 
tinguished the alder, honeysuckle, and whortleber- 
ry, common in the United States ; also a species of 
honeysuckle known only west of the Rocky Mount- 
ains, which rises to the height of about four feet, and 
bears a white berry. There is likewise a plant re- 
sembling the chokecherry, which grows in thick 
clumps eight or ten feet high, and bears a black ber- 
ry with a single stone, of a sweetish taste. The 
arbor vitcE, too, is very common, and grows to a great 
size, being from two to six feet in diameter. 

"September 21. The free use of food, to which 
he had for some time not been accustomed, made 
Captain Clarke very sick. He therefore sent out 
all the hunters, and remained himself at the village, 
as well on account of his illness as for the pur. 



26 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 

pose of avoiding suspicion, and collecting informa* 
tion from the Indians as to the route. 

" The two villages consisted of about thirty double 
tents, and the inhabitants called themselves Chopun- 
nish, or Pierced-Nose. The chief drew a chart of 
the river, and explained that a greater chief than 
himself, who governed these villages, and whose 
name was Twisted Hair, was now fishing at the dis- 
tance of half a day's ride down the river. His chart 
made the Kooskooskee fork a little below his camp, 
with a second fork farther on, and a large branch 
flowing in on each side, below which the river pass- 
ed the mountains : here was a great fall of water, 
near which lived white people, from whom were pro- 
cured the white beads and brass ornaments worn 
by the women. 

" A chief of another band made a visit this morn- 
ing, and smoked with Captain Clarke. The hunters 
returning without having been able to kill anything, 
Captain Clarke purchased as much dried salmon, 
roots, and berries as he could with the few articles 
lie chanced to have in his pockets, and having sent 
them by one of the men and a hired Indian back to 
Captain Lewis, he went on towards the camp of 
Twisted Hair. It was four o'clock before he set 
out, and the night soon came on ; but, meeting an 
Indian coming from the river, they engaged him, 
with the present of a neckcloth, to guide them to that 
chief. They proceeded twelve miles through the 
plain before they reached the river hills, which are 
very high and steep. The whole valley, from these 
hills to the Rocky Mountains, is a beautiful level 
country, with a rich soil, covered with grass : there 
is, however, but little timber, and the country is 
badly watered. The plain is so much lower than 
the surrounding hills, or so much sheltered by them, 
that the weather was quite warm, while the cold 
of the mountains was extreme. From the top of 
the river hills they proceeded down for three miles. 



MEETING WITH TWISTED HAIR. 27 

till they reached the water side between eleven and 
twelve o'clock at night. Here they found a small 
camp of five squaws and three children, the chief 
himself being encamped, with two others, on a small 
island in the river. The guide called to him, and he 
soon came over: Captain Clarke gave him a medal, 
and they smoked together till one o'clock." 

The main party proceeded on without anything 
worthy of note occurring. During the day they 
v/ere so fortunate as to kill a few pheasants and a 
prairie wolf. 

" September 22. Captain Clarke passed over to 
the island in company with Twisted Hair, who 
seemed to be cheerful and sincere in his conduct. 
The river at this place was about one hundred and 
sixty yards wide, but interrupted by shoals, and the 
low grounds on its borders were narrow. The hunt- 
ers brought in three deer ; after which Captain Clarke 
left his party, and, accompanied by Twisted Hair 
and his son, rode back to the village, where he arri- 
ved about sunset : they then walked up together to 
the second village, where we had just arrived. 

" We had intended to set out early; but one of the 
men having neglected to hobble his horse, he stray- 
ed away, and we were obliged to wait till nearly 
twelve o'clock. We then proceeded on a western 
course for two and a half miles, when we met the 
hunters sent by Captain Clarke from the village, 
seven and a half miles distant, with provisions. 
This supply was most seasonable, as we had tasted 
nothing since last night; and the fish, roots, and 
berries, in addition to a crow which we killed on the 
route, completely satisfied our hunger. After this 
refreshment we proceeded in much better spirits, 
and at a few miles were overtaken by the two men 
who had been sent back after the lost horse on the 
20th." * * * 

" As we approached the village, most of the wom- 
en, though apprized of our being expected, fled with 



28 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

their children into the neighbouring woods. The 
men, however, received us without any apprehen- 
sion, and gave us a plentiful supply of provisions. 
The plains were now crowded with Indians, who 
had come to see the persons of the whites, and the 
strange things they had brought with them ; but, as 
our guide was a perfect stranger to their language, 
we could converse by signs only. Our inquiries 
were chiefly directed to the character of the coun- 
try, the courses of the rivers, and the Indian villa- 
ges, in regard to all wkich we received more or less 
information ; and, as their accounts varied but little 
from each other, we were induced to place confi- 
dence in them. Twisted Hair drew a chart of the 
river on a white elkskin ; according to which, the 
Kooskooskee Forks were a few miles from this 
place : two days' journey towards the south was 
another and larger fork, on which the Shoshonee or 
Snake Indians fished ; five days' journey lower down 
was a large river from the northwest, into which 
Clarke's River empties itself; and from the mouth 
of that river to the falls was five days' journey far- 
ther. On all the forks, as well as on the main river, 
great numbers of Indians resided, and at the falls 
were establishments of whites. This was the story 
of Twisted Hair. 

" Septembei 23. The chiefs and warriors were all 
assembled this morning, and we explained to them 
from whence we came, the objects of our visiting 
them, and our pacific intentions towards all the In- 
dians. This, being conveyed by signs, might not 
have been perfectly comprehended, but appeared to 
give entire satisfaction. We now gave a medal to 
two of the chiefs, a shirt to Twisted Hair, in addi- 
tion to the medal he had already received, and a flag 
and handkerchief for the grand chief on his return. 
To these were added a knife, a handkerchief, and a 
small piece of tobacco for each chief. The Indians 
did not give us any provisions gratuitously. W(^ 



THE TARTY COMPLAIN OF SICKNESS. 29 

therefore purchased a quantity of fish, berries (chiefly 
red haws), and roots, and in the afternoon went on 
to the second village. Twisted Hair here introdu- 
ced us into his own tent (which consisted, however, 
of nothing more than pine-bushes and bark), and 
gave us some dried salmon boiled. We continued 
our purchases, and obtained as much provision as 
our horses could carry, in their present weak condi- 
tion, as far as the river. The men exchanged a few 
old canisters for dressed elkskins, of which they 
made shirts. Great crowds of the natives were 
round us all night, but we did not miss anything ex- 
cept a knife, and a few other articles stolen from a 
shotpouch the day before. 

" September 24. We sent back Colter in search 
of the horses lost in the mountains ; and, having 
collected the rest, set out at ten o'clock along the 
same route already passed -by Captain Clarke to- 
wards the river. All round the village the women 
were busily employed in gathering and dressing the 
pasheco root, of which large quantities were heaped 
up in piles over the plain. We now felt severely 
the consequences of eating heartily after our late 
privations : Captain Lewis and two of the men were 
taken very ill last evening, and to-day he could 
scarcely sit on his horse, vv^hile others were obliged 
to be put on their horses, and some, from extreme 
weakness and pain, were forced to lie down by the 
side of the road for a considerable time. At sunset 
we reached the island where the hunters had been 
left on the 22d. They had been unsuccessful, hav- 
ing killed only two deer since that time, and two of 
them were very ill. A little below this island was 
a larger one, on which we encamped, and adminis- 
tered Rush's pills to the sick. 

" September 25. The weather was very hot and 
oppressive to the party, most of whom were now 
complaining of sickness. Our situation, indeed, 
rendered it necessary to husband our remaining 



30 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

strength, and it was determined to proceed down i.hc 
river in canoes : Captain Clarke therefore set out 
with Twisted Hair and two young men in quest of 
timber for their construction. As he went down the 
river, at the distance of a mile he crossed a creek 
from the right, which, from the rocks that obstructed 
its passage, he called Rockdam River. The hills 
along the river were high and steep, the low grounds 
narrow, and the navigation was embarrassed by two 
rapids. At the distance of two miles farther he 
reached two nearly equal forks of the stream, one 
of which flowed in from the north. At this place 
he rested for an hour, and cooked a few salmon 
which one of the Indians had struck with a gig. 
Here, too, he was joined by some Indians in two 
caaoes from below. These canoes were long, 
steady, and loaded with the furniture and provisions 
of two families. He uow crossed the south fork, 
and returned to the camp on the south side, the 
greater part of the way through a narrow pine bot- 
tom, in which was found much fine timber suitable 
for canoes. One of the Indian boats, with two men, 
set out at the same time ; and such was their dex- 
terity in managing the pole, that they reached camp 
within fifteen minutes after him, although they had 
to drag the canoe over three rapids. He found Cap- 
tain Lewis and several of the men still very sick, 
and distributed to such as were in need of it salts 
and tartar emetic. 

*' September 26. Having resolved to go down to 
some spot calculated for building canoes, we set out 
early this morning, proceeded five miles, and en- 
camped on a piece of low ground opposite the forks 
o,^ the river; but so weak were the men, that sever- 
al were taken sick in coming down, the weather 
being oppressively hot. Two chiefs, with their fam- 
ilies, followed us, and encamped, with a great num- 
ber of horses, near us ; and soon after our arrival 
we were joined by two Indians, who had come down 



SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 31 

Ihe north fork on a raft. We purchased some fresh 
salmon ; and, having distributed axes, and portioned 
off the labour of the party, 

" September 27, at an early hour began our prep- 
arations for constructing five canoes. But few^ of 
the men, however, were able to work, and of these 
several were soon taken ill, as the day proved very 
hot. The hunters, too, returned without any game, 
and seriously indisposed, so that nearly the whole 
party were now sick. We procured some fresh 
salmon ; and Colter, who at this time returned with 
one of the horses, brought half a deer, which was 
very nourishing to the invalids. Several Indians 
from a camp below came up to see us." 

From this time to the 5th of October, all the 
men capable of labour were employed in preparing 
the canoes. The health of the party gradually re- 
cruited, though they still suffered severely from want 
of food ; and, as the hunters had but little success in 
procuring game, they were obliged on the 2d to kill 
one of their horses. Indians from different quarters 
frequently visited them, but all that could be obtain- 
ed from them was a little fish and some dried roots. 

" October 5. The canoes being nearly finished," 
says the Journal, "it became necessary to dispose 
of our horses. They were therefore collected, to the 
number of thirty-eight, and, after being branded and 
marked, were delivered to three Indians, the two 
brothers and the son of a chief who had promised to 
accompany us down the river. To each of these 
men we gave a knife and some small articles, and 
they agreed to take care of the horses till our return. 
The hunters, with all their dihgence, were unable to 
kill anything ; the liills being high and rugged, and 
the woods too dry to hunt deer, which was the only 
game in the country. We therefore continued to 
eat dried fish and roots, which were purchased of 
the squaws with small presents, but chiefly white 
beads, of which they are extravagantly fond. Some 



32 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

of these roots seemed to possess very active prop* 
erties; for, after supping on them this evening, we 
were swelled to such a degree as to be scarcely able 
to breathe for several hours. Towards night we 
launched two canoes, which proved to be very good. 

" October 6. The morning was cool, and the wind 
easterly. The general course of the winds seems 
to be nearly the same as we observed on the east 
side of the mountains. While on the head-waters 
of the Missouri, we had every morning a cool wind 
from tbe west. At this place a cool breeze springs 
up during the latter part of the night, or near day- 
break, and continues till seven or eight o'clock, when 
it subsides, and the other part of the day is warm. 
Captain Lewis was now not so well as he had been, 
and Captain Clarke was also taken ill. We had all 
our saddles buried in a cache near the river, about 
half a mile below, and deposited at the same time a 
canister of powder and a bag of balls. The time 
which could be spared from our labours on the ca- 
noes was devoted to some astronomical observations. 
The latitude of our camp, as deduced from the mean 
of two observations, was found to be 46° 34' 56.3" 
north. 

" October 7. This morning all the canoes were 
put in the water and loaded, the oars fixed, and every 
preparation made for setting out ; but when we were 
all ready, the two chiefs who had promised to ac- 
company us were not to be found, and at the same 
time we missed a pipe tomahawk : we therefore pro- 
ceeded without them. Below the forks the river is 
called the Kooskooskee, and is a clear, rapid stream, 
with a number of shoals and difficult places. For 
some miles the hills were steep, and the low grounds 
narrow ; but then succeeded an open country, with 
a few trees scattered along the river. At the dis- 
tance of nine miles was a small creek on the left. 
-Ve passed in the course of the day ten rapids ; in 
descending one of which, one of the canoes struck a 



ACCIDENT TO ONE OF THE CANOES. 33 

rock and sprung aleak. We, however, continued foi 
nineteen miles, and encamped on the left side of 
the river, opposite to the mouth of a small run. 
Here the canoe was unloaded and repaired, and two 
lead canisters of powder were deposited. Several 
camps of Indians were on the sides of the river, but 
we had little intercourse with any of them. 

" October 8. We set out at nine o'clock. At eight 
and a half miles we passed an island, and four and 
a half miles lower a second, opposite a small creek 
on the left side of the river. Five miles farther was 
another island on the left ; and a mile and a half be- 
yond, a fourth. At a short distance from this was 
a large creek coming from the right, to which we gave 
the name of Colter's Creek, from Colter, one of our 
men. We had proceeded from this creek about a 
mile and a half, and were passing the last of fifteen 
rapids, having gone over the other fourteen safely, 
when one of the canoes struck, and, a hole being made 
in her side, she immediately filled. The men, several 
of whom could not swim, clung to her till one of the 
other boats could be unloaded, and with the assistance 
of an Indian canoe they were all brought to shore. 
All the goods were so much wet that we were obliged 
to halt for the night, and spread them out to dry. 
While all this was doing it was necessary to place 
two sentinels over the merchandise, for we have 
found that these Indians, though kind and disposed 
to give us every aid during our distress, cannot resist 
the temptation of pilfering small articles. We passed, 
during our route of twenty miles, several encamp- 
ments of Indians on the islands and near the rapids, 
which places are chosen as most convenient for taking 
salmon. At one of these camps we found the two 
chiefs who had left us after promising to descend the 
river with us: they, however, willingly came on board 
after we had gone through the ceremony of smoking. 

" October 9. The morning, as usual, was cool ; but, 
as the weather was cloudy, our merchandise dried 



34 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

but slowly. The boat, though much injured, was 
repaired by ten o'clock so as to be perfectly fit for 
service : still we were obliged to remain through 
the day, for the articles to be sufficiently dry to be 
reloaded. The time we employed in purchasing fish 
for the voyage and in conversing with the Indians. 
In the afternoon we were surprised at hearing that 
our old Shoshonee guide and his son had left us, and 
been seen running up the river several miles above. 
As he had never given any notice of his intention, nor 
even received his pay for conducting us, we could 
not imagine the cause of his desertion, nor did he 
ever come back to explain his conduct. We request- 
ed the chief to send a horseman after him, to ask 
him to return and receive what we owed him. From 
this, however, he dissuaded us ; saying very frankly, 
that his nation, the Chopunnish, would take from the 
old man any presents he might have on passing their 
camp. 

" The Indians came about our encampment atnight, 
and were very gay and good-humoured with the men. 
Among other exhibitions was that of a squaw, who 
appeared to be crazy : she sang in a wild, incoherent 
manner, and would offer to the spectators all the lit 
tie articles she possessed, scarifying herself in a hor- 
rid manner if afiy one refused her presents. She 
seemed to be an object of pity among the Indians, 
who suffered her to do as she pleased, without any 
interruption. 

" October 10. A fine morning. We loaded the ca- 
noes and set off at seven o'clock. At the distance 
of two and a half miles we had passed three islands, 
the last of which was opposite to a small stream on 
the right. Within the next three and a half miles 
was another island, and a creek on the left, with wide 
low grounds, containing wiDow and cottonwood trees, 
and on which were three tents of Indians. Two ! 
miles lower was the head Df a large island, and six 
r.nd a half miles beyond it we halted at an encamp- 



RUGGED RAPID. 35 

ment of eight lodges on the left, in order to examine 
a rapid before us. We had already passed eight, 
some of them difficult ; but this was worse than any 
of those, being strewed with rocks, and very hazard- 
ous : we purchased here some roots, and dined with 
the Indians, Among them was a man from the falls, 
who says that he has seen white people at that place, 
and is very desirous of going down with us : an offer, 
however, which we declined. Just above this camp 
we had passed a tent, near which was an Indian bath- 
ing himself in a small pond or hole of water, warmed 
by throwing in hot stones. After finishing our meal, 
w^e descended the rapid with no injury except to one 
of our boats, which ran against a rock, but in the 
course of an hour was got off, with only a small split 
in her side. This rapid, from its appearance and diffi- 
culty, we named Rugged Rapid. We went on over 
five others of a less dangerous character, and at the 
distance of five miles reached a large fork of the river 
from the south ; and, after having gone twenty miles, 
halted below the junction on the right bank. Our 
arrival soon attracted the attention of the Indians^ 
who flocked in all directions to see us. In the even 
ing, the Indian from the falls, whom we had seen at 
Rugged Rapid, joined us with his son, in a small ca- 
noe, and insisted on accompanying us to the falls. 
Being again reduced to fish and roots, we made an 
experiment to vary our food by purchasing a few dogs, 
and, after having been accustomed to horse-flesh, felt 
no disrelish to this new dish. The Chopunnish have 
great numbers of dogs, which they employ for do- 
mestic purposes, but never eat them; and our using 
the flesh of that animal soon brought us into ridicule 
as dog-eaters. 

" The country at the junction of the two rivers is 
an open plain on all sides, broken towards the left 
by a distant ridge of high land, thinly covered with 
timber. This is the only body of timber which the 
country contains, for at the forks there is not a tre# 



d6 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

to be seen ; and in almost the whole descent of sixty 
miles down the Kooskooskee from its forks, there are 
very few. This southern branch is, in fact, the main 
streamof Lewis's River, on which we encamped when 
among the Shoshonees. The Indians inform us that 
it is navigable for sixty miles ; that not far from its 
mouth it receives a branch from the south; and a 
second and larger branch two days' march up, nearly 
parallel to the first Chopunnish villages we met near 
the mountains. This branch is called Pawnashte, 
and is the residence of a chief who, according to 
their expression, has more horses than he can count. 
The river has many rapids, near which are numer- 
ous fishing camps, there being ten establishments of 
this kind before reaching the first southern branch : 
one on that stream, five between that and the Paw- 
nashte, one on that river, and two above it ; besides 
which, there are many other Indian settlements on 
the more distant waters of the river. All these In- 
dians belong to the Chopunnish nation, and live in 
tents of an oblong form, covered with flat roofs. 

" At its mouth Lewis's River is about two hun- 
dred and fifty yards wide, and its water is of a green- 
ish-blue colour. The Kooskooskee, whose waters 
are clear as crystal, is one hundred and fifty yards 
m width, and after the union the breadth is increased 
to three hundred yards : at the point of union is an 
Indian cabin, and in Lewis's River a small island. 

" The men of the Chopunnish, or Pierced-Nose 
nation, residing on the Kooskooskee and Lewis Riv- 
ers, are in person stout, portly, and well-looking; 
the women are small, with good features, and are 
generally handsome, though the complexion of both 
sexes is darker than that of the Tushepaws. In 
dress they resemble that nation, being fond of dis- 
playing their ornaments. Buffalo or elk skin robes, 
decorated with beads, sea-shells, chiefly mother-of- 
pearl, attached to an otter-skin collar, falling in front 
in two queues ; feathers, paints of different kind? 



DRESS, ETC., OF THE CHOPUNNISH. 37 

principally white, green, and light blue, all of which 
they find in their own country — these are the chief 
ornaments they use. In the winter they wear a 
short shirt of dressed skins, long painted leggins and 
moccasins, and a plait of twisted grass lound the 
neck. 

" The dress of the women is more simple, con- 
sisting of a long shirt ©f argalia or ibex skin, reach- 
ing down to the ankles, and without any girdle : to 
the bottom of it are tied little pieces of brass, shells, 
and other small articles, but the top is not at all or- 
namented. The dress of the females is, indeed, more 
modest, and more studiously so than any we have 
observed, while the other sex are heedless of the 
indelicacy of exposure. 

" The Chopunnish have very few amusements, 
their hfe being painful and laborious, and all their 
exertions being necessary to earn even a precarious 
subsistence. During the summer and autumn they 
are busily occupied in fishing for salmon, and col- 
lecting their winter store of roots. In the winter 
they hunt the deer on snow-shoes over the plains, 
and towards spring cross the mountains to the Mis- 
souri, for the purpose of trafficking for buffalo robes. 
The inconveniences of this comfortless life are in- 
creased by frequent encounters with their enemies 
from the west, who drive them over the mountains 
with the loss of their horses, and sometimes the 
lives of many of the nation. Though originally the 
same people, their dialect varies very perceptibly 
from that of the Tushepaws. Their treatment to 
us differed much from the kind and disinterested 
services of the Shoshonees : they are, indeed, self- 
ish and avaricious, parting very reluctantly with ev- 
ery article of food or clothing ; and, while they ex- 
pect a recompense for every service, however small, 
do not concern themselves about reciprocating any 
favours we may show them. 

" They are generally healthy, the only disorders 



38 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

we have remarked among ihem beiri^' of a scrofu- 
lous kind ; and for these, as well as lor the amuse 
ment of those who are in good health, hot and cold 
bathing is very frequently used. 

" The soil of these prairies is a light yellow clay : 
it is barren, and produces little more than a beard- 
ed grass about three inches high, and the prickly 
pear, of which we here found three species. The 
first is of the broad-leafed kind, common to the Mis- 
souri ; the second has a leaf of a globular form, and 
is also frequent in the upper parts of the Missouri, 
particularly in the country along the river after it 
enters the Rocky Mountains. The third is peculiar 
to this country, and is much more troublesome than 
either of the others. It consists of small, thick leaves 
of a circular form, which grow from the margin of 
each other, as in the broad-leafed pear of the Mis- 
souri. These leaves are armed with a great number 
of thorns, which are "fery strong, and appear to be 
barbed; and, as the leaf itself is very slightly at- 
tached to the stem, as soon as one of the thorns 
touches the moccasin, it adheres, and brings with it 
the leaf, accompanied by a re-enforcement of other 
thorns." 



INDIAN VAPOUR-BATH. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

Departure of the Party.— Descriptior of an Indian Sweating- 
bath and B-Urial-pIace.— Dangerous Rapids.— Visits from the 
Indians, who manifest a pacific Disposition.— Description of the 
Sokuik. Tribe.— Their Dress, and Manner of building Houses. 
—Their pacific Character.— Their Habits of Living.— Their 
Mode of boiling Salmon.— Vast Quantities of Salmon among 
the Sokulks.— Council held with this Tribe.— The Terror 
and Consternation excited by Captain Clarke.— Some Ac- 
count of the Pishquitpaws.— Their Mode of burying the Dead. 

"October 11, 1805. This morning the wmd was 
from the east, and the weather cloudy. We set 
out early, and at the distance of a mile and a half 
reached a point of rocks in a bend of the river to- 
wards the left, near to which was an old Indian 
house, and a meadow on the opposite bank. Here 
the hills came down towards the water, and, with 
the rocks which have fallen from their sides, form- 
ed a rapid, over which we were obliged to drag the 
canoes. A mile and a half farther we passed two 
Indian lodges in a bend towards the right, and at six 
miles from our camp of last evening reached the 
mouth of a brook on the left. Just above this stream 
we stopped for breakfast, at a large encampment of 
Indians on the same side. We soon began to trade 
with them for a stock of provisions, and were so 
fortunate as to purchase seven dogs and all the fish 
they could spare. While this traffic was going on, 
we observed a vapour-bath or sweating-house of a 
different form from any used on the frontiers of the 
United States or among the Rocky Mountains : it 
was a hollow square of six or eight feet deep, form- 
ed against the river-bank by damming up with mud 
the other three sides, and covering the top com- 
pletely, except an aperture about two feet wide, 
IT.— D 



40 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

The bathers descend by this hole, taking with them 
a number of heated stones and jugs of water ; and 
after seating themselves round the room, throw the 
water on the stones till the steam becomes of a 
temperature sufficiently high for their purpose. The 
baths of the Indians in the Rocky Mountains are of 
different sizes, the most common being made of mud 
and sticks, like an oven ; but the mode of raising 
the steam is exactly the same. Among both these 
nations it is very uncommon for a man to bathe 
alone ; he is generally accompanied by one, and 
sometimes several of his acquaintances. Indeed, it 
is so essentially a social amusement, that to decline 
going in the bath when invited by a friend is one 
of the highest indignities which can be offered. The 
Indians on the frontiers generally use a bath that 
will accommodate only one person, and which is 
formed of a wicker-work of willows, about four 
feet high, arched at the top, and covered with skins 
In this the bather sits, till by means of the steam 
from the heated stones he has perspired sufficiently. 
These baths are almost universally in the neighbour- 
hood of running water, into which the Indians 
plunge immediately on coming out from them ; and 
sometimes they return again, and subject themselves 
to a second perspiration. This practice is, howev- 
er, less frequent among the nations on our borders 
than those to the westward. The bath is employed 
either for pleasure or health, and is used indiscrim- 
inately for all kinds of diseases. 

" Shortly after leaving our encampment we passed 
two rapids, and at the distance of four and a half 
miles reached one which was much more difficult. 
Three miles beyond this there were three huts of 
Indians on the right, where we stopped and obtain- 
ed, in excnange for a few trifles, some pasheco roots, 
five dogs, and a small quantity of dried fish. We 
made our dinner of part of each of these articles, 
and then proceeded on without any obstruction till 



INDIAN BURIAL-PLACES. 41 

after we had gone twelve and a half miles, when 
we came to a stony island on the right side of the 
river, opposite to which was a rapid, and a second 
at its lower point. About three and a half miles be- 
yond this island was a small brook, emptying itself 
into a bend on the right, where we stopped at two 
Indian huts, which we found inhabited. Here we 
met two Indians belonging to a nation residing at 
the mouth of this river. We had made thirty-one 
miles to-day, although the weather w^as warm, and 
the current obstructed by nine different rapids, more 
or less difficult to pass. All these rapids are fishing- 
places, greatly resorted to in the season; and as we 
passed we observed near them slabs and pieces of 
«plit timber raised from the ground, and some entire 
houses, vacant at present, but which will be occupied 
as soon as the Indians return from the plains on both 
sides of the river, where our chief informs us they are 
now hunting the antelope. Near each of the houses 
js a small collection of graves, the burial-places of 
those who frequent these establishments. The dead 
are wrapped in robes of skins, and deposited in 
graves, which are covered over with earth, and mark- 
ed or secured by little pickets or pieces of wood 
stuck promiscuously in and around them. The 
country on both sides, after mounting a steep ascent 
of about two hundred feet, becomes an open, level, 
and fertile plain, which is, however, as well as the 
borders of the river itself, entirely destitute of any 
kind of timber ; and the chief growth we observed 
consisted of a few low blackberries." * * * 

They continued to descend the river, and from the 
12th to the 15th proceeded about sixty-three miles. 
On their way they passed several rapids, one of 
which was particularly dangerous, and two miles in 
length. They got over it safely, however, by the aid 
of their Indian pilots, but were less fortunate the next 
day ; one of their canoes being driven sideways 
against a rock, so that she filled with water, and they 



42 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

were obliged to unload her to dry the baggage she 
had on board. Unfortunately, their roots and other 
provisions were in this boat, and were entirely spoil- 
ed. The only game they procured was a few geese 
and ducks. They passed two considerable streams 
on the 13th, the first of which they called Kimooenim 
Creek, and the other Drewyer's River. Having part- 
ly dried their baggage, they set out again late in the 
day on the 15th, intending to complete the drying at 
the mouth of the river, where they proposed stopping 
to take some celestial observations, and which they 
supposed could not be far distant. 

" For the first four miles," proceeds the Journal, 
" we passed three islands, at the lower points of 
which were the same number of rapids, besides a 
fourth at a distance from them. In the next ten miles 
we passed eight islands and three more rapids, and 
reached a point of rocks on the left. These islands 
were of various sizes, and were all composed of 
round stone and sand : the rapids were in many pla- 
ces difficult and dangerous to pass. The country 
now became lower than before, the ground near the 
river not being higher than ninety or a hundred feet, 
and extending back into a waving plain. Soon after 
leaving this point of rocks we entered a narrow chan- 
nel, formed by the projecting cliffs of the bank, which 
rise nearly perpendicular from the water. The river 
is not, however, rapid, but gentle and smooth the 
whole length of its confinement, which continues for 
three miles, when it falls, or rather widens, into a 
kind of basin nearly round, and without any percept- 
ible current. After passing through this basin we 
were joined by the three Indians who had piloted us 
through the rapids since we left the forks, and who, 
in company with our two chiefs, had gone before us. 
They had halted here to warn us of a dangerous rapid 
which begins at the lower point of the basin. As the 
day was too far spent to attempt it, we determined 
to examine it before descending, and therefore en- 



PASSING THE RAPIDS. 43 

camped near an island at its head, and studied par- 
ticularly all its narrow and difficult parts. The spot 
where we landed was an old fishing establishment, 
of which there yet remained the timbers of a house, 
carefully raised on scatfolds to protect them against 
the spring freshet. Not being able to procure any 
other fuel, and the night being cold, we were a sec- 
ond time obliged to use the property of the Indians, 
who still remain in the plains hunting the antelope. 
Our progress had been but twenty miles, in conse- 
quence of the difficulty of passing the rapids ; and 
our game consisted of only two teal. 

" October 16. Having fully examined the rapids, 
which we found even more difficult than the report 
of the Indians had induced us to believe, we set out 
early, and, putting our Indian guide in front, our 
smallest canoe next, and the rest in succession, be- 
gan the descent. The passage proved to be very 
disagreeable, as there was a continuation of shoals, 
extending from bank to bank, for the distance of 
three miles, the channel being narrow and crooked, 
and obstructed by large rocks in every direction, so 
as to require great dexterity to avoid being dashed 
against them. We got through, however, with no 
injury to any of the boats except the hindmost, which 
ran on a rock ; but, by the assistance of the other 
boats and of the Indians, who were very alert, she 
escaped, though the baggage on board of her was 
wet. Within three miles we passed three small isl- 
ands, on one of which were the parts of a house, put 
on scaffolds as usual, and soon after came to another 
rapid at the lower extremity of three small islands ; 
and to a second, again, at the distance of a mile and a 
half below them. At six miles from the great rapid 
we reached a point of rocks at a rapid opposite to the 
upper part of a small island on the left ; three miles 
farther there was another rapid; and two miles be- 
yond this, a very bad one, or, rather, a fall of the river. 
This last proved, on examination, to be so difficult, 



44 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

that M e thought it imprudent to attempt it, and there- 
fore unloaded the canoes, and made a portage of three 
quarters of a mile. This rapid, which is of about the 
same length, is much broken by rocks and shoals, 
and has a small island in it, on the right side. 

" After completing the transportation we halted 
for dinner, and while we were eating were visited 
by five Indians, who had come up the river on foot 
in great haste. We received them kindly, smoked 
with them, and gave them a piece of tobacco to smoke 
with their tribe ; on receiving which they set out to 
return, and continued running as fast as they could 
while they remained in sight. Their curiosity had 
6een excited by the accounts of our two chiefs, who 
had gone on ahead, to apprize the tribes of our ap- 
proach, and of our friendly dispositions towards 
them. After dinner we reloaded the canoes and pro- 
ceeded. We soon passed a rapid opposite to the up- 
per point of a sandy island on the left, which has a 
smaller island near it. At three miles there was a 
gravelly bar in the river ; and four miles beyond this, 
the Kimooenim River empties itself into the Colum- 
bia, having an island at its mouth, just below a small 
rapid. We halted above the point of junction, on the 
Kimooenim, to confer with the Indians, who had col- 
lected in great numbers to receive us. On landing 
we were met by our two chiefs, to whose good offices 
we were indebted for this reception, and also by the 
two Indians who had passed us a few days since on 
horseback ; one of them appearing to be a man of in- 
fluence, as he harangued the assembly on our arrival. 
After smoking with the Indians, we formed a camp at 
the point where the two rivers unite, near which we 
found some driftwood : we were also supplied by our 
two old chiefs with the stalks of willows and some 
small bushes for fuel. Scarcely had we fixed our 
quarters and got the fires prepared, when a chief 
came from the Indian camp about a fourth of a mile 
up the Columbia, at th.e head of nearly two hundred 



INDIAN PROCESSION. 45 

men. They formed a regular procession, keeping 
time to the music, or, rather, noise of their drums, 
which they accompanied with their voices ; and as 
they advanced, they ranged themselves in a semicir- 
cle around us, and continued singing for some time. 
We then smoked with them all, and communicated, 
as well as we could by signs, our friendly intentions 
towards every nation, and our joy at finding ourselves 
surrounded by our children. After this we proceeded 
to distribute presents among them, giving the princi- 
pal chief a large medal, a shirt, and a handkerchief; 
to the second chief, a medal of a smaller size ; and 
to a third, who had come down from some of the up- 
per villages, a small medal and a handkerchief. This 
ceremony being concluded, they left us ; but in the 
course of the afternoon several of them returned, 
and remained with us till a late hour. After they 
had dispersed, we proceeded to purchase provisions, 
and were enabled to collect seven dogs, to which 
some of the Indians added small presents of fish, and 
one of them gave us twenty pounds of fat dried horse- 
flesh, 

" October 17. The day being fair, we were occu- 
pied in taking the necessary observations for deter- 
mining our longitude, and we obtained a meridian 
altitude, from which it appeared that we were in lat- 
itude 46° 15' 13.9". We also measured the two riv- 
ers by angles, and found that at the junction the 
Columbia was nine hundred and sixty yards wide, 
and Lewis's River five hundred and seventy-five ; 
but, soon after they unite, the former widens to the 
breadth of from one to three miles, including the isl- 
ands. From the point of confluence the country is 
a continued plain, low near the water, and rising 
gradually from it ; the only elevation to be seen be- 
ing a range of high country running from the north- 
east towards the southwest, where it joins a chain 
of mountains from the southwest, and on the oppo- 
site side is about two miles from the Columbia. 



46 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

There is throughout this plain not a single tree, nor 
scarcely any shrubs, except a few willow bushes ; 
and even of smaller plants there is not much more 
than the prickly pear, which is in great abundance, 
and even more thorny and troublesome than any we 
had yet seen. In the mean time the principal chief 
came down, with several of his warriors, and smoked 
with us. We were also visited by several men and 
women, who offered dogs and dried fish for sale ; but 
as the fish was out of season, being at present abun- 
dant in the river, we contented ourselves with pur- 
chasing the dogs. The nation among whom we now 
are call themselves Sokulks ; and with them are 
united a few of another nation, who reside on a 
western branch, emptying itself into the Columbia 
a few miles above the mouth of the latter river, and 
whose name is Chimnapum. 

" The languages of these two nations, of both of 
which we obtained a vocabulary, differ but little from 
each other or from that of the Chopunnish, who in- 
habit the Kooskooskee and Lewis Rivers. In their 
dress and general appearance, also, they much re- 
semble that nation ; the men wearing a robe of deer 
or antelope skin, under which a few of them have a 
short leathern shirt. The most striking difference 
is among the females, the Sokulk women being more 
inclined to corpulency than any we have yet seen. 
Their stature is low, their faces are broad, and their 
heads flattened in such a manner that the forehead 
is in a straight hue from the nose to the crown of 
the head. Their eyes are of a dirty sable, their hair 
is coarse and black, and braided without ornament 
of any kind. Instead of wearing, as do the Cho- 
punnish, long leathern shirts highly decorated with 
beads and shells, the Sokulk women have no other 
covering but a truss or piece of leather tied round 
the hips, and drawn tight between the legs. The 
ornaments usually worn by both sexes are large 
blue or white beads, either pendant from their ears, 



CHARACTER, ETC., OF THE SOKULKS. 47 

jr round the neck, wrists, and arms : they have like- 
wise bracelets of brass, copper, and horn, and some 
trinkets of shells, fish-bones, and curious feathers. 
The houses of the Sokulks are made of large mats 
of rushes, and are generally of a square or oblong 
form, varying in length from fifteen to sixty feet, and 
supported in the inside by poles or forks about six 
feet high. The top is covered with mats, leaving a 
space of twelve or fifteen inches the whole length 
of the house, for the purpose of admitting the light 
and suffering the smoke to escape. The roof is 
nearly flat, which seems to indicate that rains are 
not common in this open country ; and the house is 
not divided into apartments, the fire being in the mid- 
dle of the enclosure, and immediately under the hole 
in the roof. The interior is ornamented with their 
nets, gigs, and other fishing-tackle, as well as the 
bow of each inmate, and a large quiver of arrows, 
which are headed with flint. 

" The Sokulks seem to be of a mild and peaceable 
disposition, and live in a state of comparative happi- 
ness. The men, like those on the Kimooenim, are 
said to content themselves with a single wife, with 
whom the husband, we observe, shares the labours 
of procuring subsistence much more than is common 
among savages. What may be considered an une- 
quivocal proof of their good disposition, is the great 
respect which is shown to old age. Among other 
marks of it, we noticed in one of the houses an old 
woman perfectly blind, and who, we were told, had 
lived more than a hundred winters. In this state of 
decrepitude, she occupied the best position in the 
house, seemed to be treated with great kindness, 
and whatever she said was listened to with much 
attention. They are by no means obtrusive ; and as 
their fisheries supply them with a competent, if not 
an abundant subsistence, although they receive 
thankfully whatever we choose to give, they do not 
importune us by begging. Fish is, indeed, their chief 
II.— E 



48 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

food, to which they add roots, and occasionally the 
flesh of the antelope, which, as they have only bows 
and arrows, must be very scanty. This diet may be 
the immediate or remote cause of the principal dis- 
order prevailing among them, as well as among the 
Flatheads on the Kooskooskee and Lewis Rivers 
With all these Indians soreness of the eyes is very 
common, and it is so aggravated by neglect that many 
are deprived of one of their eyes, and some have 
lost entirely the use of both. This dreadful disor- 
der may also, we think, be imputed, in part, to the 
reflection of the sun from the waters, where they are 
constantly fishing in the spring, summer, and autumn, 
and during the rest of the year from the snow, in a 
country where there is no object to relieve the sight. 
Among the Sokulks, too, and, indeed, among all the 
tribes whose chief subsistence is fish, we have ob- 
served that bad teeth are very general ; some have 
the teeth, particularly those of the upper jaw, worn 
down to the gums ; and many of both sexes, and 
even of middle age, have lost them entirely. This 
decay of the teeth is a circumstance very unusual 
among the Indians, either on the mountains or plains, 
and seems peculiar to those of the Columbia. We 
cannot avoid regarding as one cause of it the man- 
ner in which they eat their food. The roots are 
swallowed as they are dug from the ground, frequent- 
ly nearly covered with a gritty sand ; and so little 
idea have they that this is offensive, that all the roots 
they bring to us for sale are in the same condition. 
Another and important cause may be their great use 
of dried salmon, the bad effects of which are most 
probably increased by their mode of cooking it, which 
is simply to warm it, and then eat the skin, scales, 
and flesh, without any farther preparation. The So- 
kulks possess but few horses, the greater part of 
their labours being performed in canoes. Their 
amusements are similar to those of the Missouri In- 
dians. 



INDIAN MODE OF COOKING FISH. 49 

" In the course of the day, Captain Clarke, in a 
email canoe with two men, ascended the Columbia. 
At the distance of five miles he passed an island in 
the middle of the river, at the head of which was a 
small but not dangerous rapid. On the left bank, 
opposite to this island, was a fishing-place consist- 
ing of three mat houses. Here were great quanti- 
ties of salmon drying on scaffolds ; and, indeed, from 
the mouth of the river upward, he saw immense 
numbers of dead salmon strewed along the shore, 
or floating on the surface of the water, which is so 
clear that the fish may be seen swimming at the 
depth of fifteen or twenty feet. The Indians, who 
had collected on the banks to observe him, now 
joined him in eighteen canoes, and accompanied 
him up the river. A mile above the rapids he came 
to the lower point of an island, where the course of 
the stream, which had been from its mouth north 
83° west, now became due west. He proceeded in 
that direction, until, observing three houses of mats 
at a short distance, he landed to visit them. On en- 
tering one of these houses, he found it crowded with 
men, women, and children, who immediately provi- 
ded a mat for him to sit on, and one of the party 
undertook to prepare something to eat. He began 
by bringing in a piece of pine wood that had drifted 
down the river, which he split into small pieces with 
a wedge made of elkhorn, by means of a mallet of 
stone curiously carved. The pieces of wood were 
then laid on the fire, and several round stones pla- 
ced upon them. One of the squaws now brought a 
bucket of water, in which was a large salmon about 
half dried, and, as the stones became heated, they 
were put into the bucket till the salmon was sufli- 
ciently boiled for use. It v/as then taken out, put 
on a platter of rushes neatly made, and laid before 
Captain Clarke, while another was boiled for each 
of his men. During these preparations he smoked 
with such about him as would accept of tobacco, 



50 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

though very few would do it, smoking not being 
general among them, and chiefly used as a matter 
of form in great ceremonies. After eating the fish, 
which was of an excellent flavour, Captain Clarke 
again set out, and at the distance of four miles from 
the last island came to the lower point of another, 
near the left shore, where he halted at two large 
mat houses. Here, as at the three houses below, 
the inhabitants were occupied in splitting and drying 
salmon. The multitudes of this fish, indeed, are al- 
most inconceivable. The water is so clear, as we 
have already remarked, that they can readily be 
seen at the depth of fifteen or twenty feet ; but at 
this s.eason they float down the stream, and are 
drifted ashore in such quantities that the Indians 
have only to collect, split, and dry them on the scaf- 
folds. Where they procure the timber of which 
these scaffolds are composed, he could not learn ; 
and, as there are nothing but willow bushes to be 
seen for a great distance from this place, it renders 
very probable, what the Indians assured him by 
signs, that they often use dried fish as fuel for the 
common occasions of cooking. From this island 
they showed him the entrance of a western branch 
of the Columbia, called the Tapteal, which, a? far as 
could be seen, bears nearly west, and empties itself 
about eight miles above into the Columbia, the gen- 
eral course of which is northwest. Towards the 
southwest a range of high land runs parallel to the 
river, at the distance of two miles on the left, while 
on the right side the country is low, and covered 
with the prickly pear, and a weed or plant two or 
three feet high, resembling the whin. To the east- 
ward is a range of mountains about fifty or sixty 
miles distant, bearing north and south ; but neither 
in the low grounds nor in the high lands is any tim- 
ber to be seen. The evening coming on, he deter- 
mined not to proceed farther than the island, and 
therefore returned to camp, accompanied by three 



THE PRAIRIE-COCK. 51 

canoes containing twenty Indians. In the course 
o< his excursion he shot several grouse and ducks, 
and received some presents of fish, for which he 
gave in return small pieces of riband. He also kill- 
ed a prairie-cock, a bird of the pheasant kind, but 
about the size of a small turkey. It measured from 
the beak to the end of the toe two feet six inches 
and three quarters ; from the extremities of the 
wings three feet six inches ; and the feathers of the 
tail were thirteen inches long. This bird we have 
seen nowhere except on this river. Its chief food 
is the grasshopper, and the seed of a wild plant 
which is peculiar to this river and the upper parts 
of the Missouri. 

" The men availed themselves of this day's rest 
to mend their clothes, dress skins, and put their 
arms in order : an object always of primary concern, 
but particularly at a moment when we were sur- 
rounded by so many strangers. 

" October 18. We were visited this morning by 
several canoes of Indians, who joined those already 
with us, and formed a numerous council. We in- 
formed them, as we had done all the other Indian 
nations, of our friendship for them, and of our desire 
to promote peace among all our red children in this 
country. This was conveyed by signs through our 
two chiefs, and seemed to be perfectly understood. 
We then made a second chief, and gave to all the 
chiefs a string of wampum, in remembrance of what 
we had said. While the conference was going on, 
four men came in a canoe from a large encamp- 
ment on an island about eight miles below, but, after 
staying a few minutes, returned without saying a 
word to us. We now procured from the principal 
chief and one of the Cuimnapum nation a sketch 
of the Columbia, and some account of the tribes of 
his nation living along its banks and those of the 
Tapteal. They drew it with a piece of coal on a 



62 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

robe, and, as we afterward transferred it to paper, il 
exhibited a valuable specimen of Indian delineation 

" Having completed the purposes of our stay, we 
now began to lay in our stores, and as it was not the 
season for dried fish, purchased forty dogs, for which 
we gave small articles, such as bells, thimbles, knit- 
ting-needles, brass wire, and a few beads : an ex- 
change with which they all seemed perfectly sat- 
isfied. These dogs, with six prairie-cocks killed 
this morning, formed a plentiful supply for the pres- 
ent. We here left our guide, and the two young 
men who had accompanied him ; two of the three 
not being wilUng to go any farther, and the third be- 
ing of no use, as he was not acquainted with the 
river below. We therefore took no Indians but oui 
two chiefs, and resumed our journey in the presence 
of many of the Sokulks, who came to witness our 
departure. The morning was cool and fair, and the 
wind from the southeast." 

Soon after starting they passed the mouth of 
Lewis's River, and as they continued to descend, 
saw diflferent fishing establishments on the shore. 
Having proceeded twenty miles, they encamped for 
the night, and soon after landing were informed by 
their two chiefs that the largest of these establish- 
ments belonged to the most important chief in that 
part of the country. On receiving this inteUigence, 
the two chiefs were despatched to invite the great 
chief to spend the night at the encampment. He 
accordingly came, accompanied by twenty men, 
bringing a basket of mashed berries, which he pre- 
sented to the strangers, but estabhshed a separate 
camp at some distance from them. 

" October 19. The great chief," continues the 
narrative, " with two of his inferior chiefs, and a 
third belonging to a band on the river below, made 
us a visit at a very early hour. The first of these, 
called Yellepit, was a handsome, well-proportioned 
man, about five feet eight inches high, and thirty- five 



\WGEROUS RAPID. 53 

years of age, with h bold and dignified countenance : 
the rest had nothing remarkable in their appearance. 
We smoked with them, and, after making a speech, 
gave a medal, a handkerchief, and a string of wam- 
pum to Yellepit, and a string of wampum only to 
the inferior chiefs. He requested us to remain till 
the middle of the day, that all his nation might come 
and see us ; but we excused ourselves by telling him 
that on our return we would spend two or three 
days vvith him. This conference detained us till 
nine o'clock, by which time great numbers of the 
Indians had come down to visit us." 

As they descended they passed an island w^here 
were several Indian houses, the occupants of which 
were, as usual, employed in drying fish, and seemed 
to be much alarmed at the approach of the party. 
They proceeded on, and at the distance of about 
twelve miles from the point they had left in the 
morning, they came to a very dangerous rapid, 
which, however, they succeeded in passing safely, 
ihough with great fatigue and difficulty. " In or- 
ler," proceeds the Journal, " to lighten the boats, 
Captain Clarke, with the two chiefs, the interpreter 
and his wife, had walked across the low grounds on 
the left to the foot of the rapids. On the way he 
ascended a cliflf about two hundred feet above the 
water, from which he saw that the country on both 
sides of the river, immediately from its cliff's, was 
low, and spread itself into a level plain, extending 
for a great distance in every direction. To the 
west, at the distance of about one hundred and fifty 
miles, was a very high mountain covered with 
snow ; and, from its direction and appearance, he 
supposed it to be Mount St. Helen's, laid down by 
Vancouver as visible from the mouth of the Colum- 
bia : there was also another mountain of a conical 
form, whose top was covered with snow, in a south- 
west direction. 

" As Captain Clarke arrived at the lower end of 



54 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the rapid before any, except one of the small canoes, 
he sat down on a rock to wait for them, and, seeing 
a crane fly across the river, shot it, and it fell near 
him. Several Indians had been before this passing 
on the opposite side towards the rapids, and some 
who were then nearly in front of him, being either 
alarmed at his appearance or the report of the gun, 
fled to their houses. Captain Clarke was afraid that 
these people had not yet heard that the white men 
were coming, and therefore, in order to allay their 
uneasiness before the rest of the party should ar- 
rive, he got into the small canoe with three men, 
rowed over towards the houses, and, while crossing, 
shot a duck, which fell into the water. As he ap- 
proached no person was to be seen except three 
men in the plains, and they, too, fled as he came 
near the shore. He landed in front of five houses 
close to each other, but no one appeared, and the 
doors, which were of mat, were closed. He went 
towards one of them with a pipe in his hand, and, 
pushing aside the mat, entered the lodge, where he 
found thirty-two persons, chiefly men and women, 
with a few children, all in the greatest consterna- 
tion ; some hanging down their heads, others crying 
and vi^ringing their hands. He went up to them, 
and shook hands with each one in the most friendly 
manner; but their apprehensions, which had for a 
moment subsided, revived on his taking out a burn- 
ing-glass, as there was no roof to the house, and 
lighting his pipe : he then off'ered it to several of the 
men, and distributed among the women and children 
some small trinkets which he had with him, and 
gradually restored a degree of tranquiUity among 
them. Leaving this house, and directing each of his 
men to visit a house, he entered a second. Here 
he found the inmates more terrified than those in 
the first ; but he succeeded in pacifying them, and 
afterward went into the other houses, where the 
men had been equally successful. Retiring from 



SINGULAR BELIEF OF THE INDIANS. 55 

the houses, he seated himself on a rock, and beckon- 
ed to some of the men to come and smoke with 
him ; but none of them ventured to join him till the 
canoes arrived with the two chiefs, who immediate- 
ly explained our pacific intention towards them. 
Soon after the interpreter's wife landed, and her 
presence dissipated all doubts of our being well-dis- 
posed, since in this country no woman ever accom- 
panies a war party : they therefore all came out, 
and seemed perfectly reconciled ; nor could we, in- 
deed, blame them for their terrors, which were per- 
fectly natural. They told the two chiefs that they 
knew we were not men, for they had seen us fall 
from the clouds. In fact, unperceived by them, 
Captain Clarke had shot the white crane, which they 
had seen fall just before he appeared to their eyes : 
the duck which he had killed also fell close by him ; 
and as there were some clouds flying over at the mo- 
ment, they connected the fall of the birds with his 
sudden appearance, and believed that he had himself 
actually dropped from the clouds ; considering the 
noise of the rifle, which they had never heard be- 
fore, the sound announcing so extraordinary an 
event. This belief was strengthened, when, on en- 
tering the room, he brought down fire from the 
heavens by means of his burning-glass. We soon 
convinced them, however, that we were merely 
mortals ; and after one of our chiefs had explained 
our history and objects, we all smoked together in 
great harmony. These people do not speak pre- 
cisely the same language as the Indians farther up, 
but understand them in conversation. In a short 
time we were joined by many of the inhabitants 
from below, several of them on horseback, and all 
pleased to see us, and to exchange their fish and ber- 
ries for a few trinkets. 

" We remained here till after dinner, and then pro- 
ceeded. At half a mile the hilly country on the right 
side of the river ceased; at eleven mile.^: we foun(? 



66 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

a small rapid ; and a mile farther we came to a 
small island on the left, where there were some 
willows. In going this distance from the five lodges 
we passed twenty more, dispersed along the river 
at different points of the valley on the right ; but. as 
the inhabitants were now apprized of our coming, 
they showed no signs of alarm. On leaving the isl- 
and we proceeded three miles farther, through a 
country which was low on both sides of the river, 
and encamped under some willow-trees on the left, 
having made thirty-six miles. Immediately oppo- 
site to us was an island close to the left shore, and 
another in the middle of the river, on which were 
twenty-four houses of Indians, all engaged in drying 
fish. We had scarcely landed before about a hun- 
dred of them came over in their boats to visit us, 
bringing with them a present of some wood, which 
was very acceptable. We received them in as kind 
a manner as we could, smoked with all of them, and 
gave the principal chief a string of wampum ; but 
the highest satisfaction they derived from the music 
of two of our violins, with which they seemed much 
delighted : they remained all night at our fires. 

" This tribe is a branch of the nation called Pish- 
quitpaws, and can raise about three hundred and 
fifty men. In their dress they resemble the Indians 
near the Forks of the Columbia, except that their 
robes are smaller, and do not reach lower than the 
waist ; indeed, three fourths of them have scarcely 
anything that can be called a robe. The dress of 
the females is equally scanty, for they wear only a 
small piece of a robe, which covers their shoulders 
and neck, and reaches down the back to the waist, 
where it is attached by a piece of leather tied tight 
round the body : their cheek-bones are high, their 
heads flattened, and their persons in general adorned 
with scarcely any ornaments. Both sexes were 
employed in curing fish, of which they had great 
quantities on their scaffolds. 



INDIAN BURIAL-PLACE. 



67 



« October 20. The morning was cool, the wind 
from the southwest. Om- appearance had excited 
the curiosity of the neighbourhood so much, that 
before wo set o\it about two hundred Indians had 
collected to see us ; and, as we were desirous of se- 
curinc^ their friendship, we remained to smoke and 
confe? with them till breakfast. We then took our 
repast, which consisted wholly of dog's flesh, and 
proceeded. We passed three vacant houses near 
our camp, and at six miles reached the head of a 
rapid, on descending which we soon came to an- 
other very difficult and dangerous : it is formed by 
a chain of large black rocks stretching from the 
ricrht side of the river, and, with several small isl- 
ands on the left, nearly choking the channel. To 
this we gave the name of Pelican Rapid, from see- 
ing a number of pelicans and black cormorants about 
it Just below it was a small island near the right 
shore, where were four houses, the occupants of 
which were busy in drying fish. At sixteen miles 
from our camp we reached a bend to the left, oppo- 
site a large island, and at one o'clock halted for din- 
ner on the lower point of an island on the right side 
of the channel. Close to this was a larger island 
on the same side, and near the left bank a small one, 
a little below. We landed near some Indian huts, 
and counted on this cluster of three islands seven- 
teen of them, filled with inhabitants resembling in 
every respect those higher up ; and, like them, they 
were busy in preparing fish. We purchased of them 
some dried fish, which were not good, and a few 
berries, on which we dined, and then walked to the 
head of the island, for the purpose of examining a 
vault which we had observed in coming along. 

" This place, in which the dead were deposited, was 
a building about sixty feet long and twelve feet wide, 
and was formed by fixing in the ground poles, with 
forks, six feet high, across which a long pole was 
extended the whole length of the structure. Against 



58 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

this ridge-pole were placed broad boards and pieces 
of canoes in a slanting direction, so as to form a 
shed. It stood east and west, and neither of the ex- 
tremities was closed. On entering the western end 
we observed a number of bodies wrapped carefully 
in leathern robes, arranged in rows on boards, and 
covered with a mat. This was the part destined for 
those recently deceased ; while a little farther on 
there were bones half decayed and scattered about, 
and in the centre of the building there was a large 
pile of them heaped promiscuously on each other. 
At the eastern extremity was a mat, on which were 
placed twenty-one sculls, in a circular form : the 
mode of interment being, first, to wrap the body in 
robes, and as it decays the bonesare thrown into a 
heap, and the sculls placed together. From the dif- 
ferent boards and pieces of canoes which formed the 
vault, there were suspended on the inside fishing- 
nets, baskets, wooden bowls, robes, skins, trenchers, 
and trinkets of various kinds, obviously intended as 
offerings of aflfection to deceased relatives. On the 
outside of the burial-place were the skeletons of 
several horses, and great quantities of their bones 
m the neighbourhood, which induced us to believe 
that these animals were most probably sacrificed at 
the funeral rites of their masters." 

After leaving this place the country became more 
hilly, and they encamped in the evening, having made 
forty-two miles. They killed several duclts and two 
speckled gulls. 



SCARCITY OF WOOD. 59 



CHAPTER III. 

The Party in their Descent still visited by the Indians. — Le- 
page's River. — Towahnahiooks River. — Indian Mode of stack 
ing Fish, and preparing them for Market. — Description of the 
Great Falls. — Description of an Indian Canoe. — Alarm excited 
by an anticipated Attack from the Eheltoots. — Dangerous 
Rapid, called by the Indians The Falls. — Account of the In. 
dian Houses in the Neighbourhood. — Another frightful Rapid. 
— Some Account of the Chilluckittequaw Indians. — Captain 
Clarke examines the Great Rapids. — Description of an Indian 
Burial-place.— The Rapids passed in Safety. 

" October 21. The morning was cool, and the wind 
from the southwest. At five and a half miles we 
passed a small island, and one and a half farther ano- 
ther in the middle of the river, with some rapid wa- 
ter near its head, and opposite to its lower extremity 
were eight cabins of Indians. We landed near them 
for breakfast; but such was the scarcity of wood, 
that the last evening we had not been able to collect 
anything except dry willows, and of these not more 
than barely sufficient to cook our supper : this morn- 
ing we could not find enough even to prepare our 
breakfast. The Ind ians received us with great kind- 
ness, and examined everything they saw with much 
attention. In their appearance and employments, 
as well as in their language, they did not differ from 
those higher up the river. Their dress, too, was 
nearly the same ; that of the men consisting of no- 
thing but a short robe of deer or goat skin, and the 
women wearing only a piece of dressed skin, falling 
from the neck so as to cover the front of the body 
as low as the waist ; a bandage tied round the body, 
and passing between the legs ; and over this a short 
robe of deer and antelope skin was occasionally 



60 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

thrown. Here we saw two blankets of scarlet and 
one of blue cloth, and also a sailor's round jacket ; 
but we could obtain only a few pounded roots and 
some fish, for which, of course, we paid. Among 
other things we observed some acorns, the fruit of 
the white oak. These they use as food, either raw 
or roasted ; and on inquiry, they informed us that they 
were procured from the Indians who live near the 
Great Falls. This place they designated by a name 
very commonly applied to it by the Indians, and 
highly expressive, the word Timm, which they pro- 
nounce so as to make it perfectly represent the 
sound of a distant cataract."* 

They found the river obstructed by rocks and fre- 
quent rapids, and towards the close of the day it be- 
came much narrower. Passing a considerable 
stream coming in from the southeast, to which they 
gave the name of Lepage's River, about seven miles 
below they encamped near some Indian huts to 
spend the night. 

" The inhabitants of these huts," says the journal- 
ist, " stated to us that they were the relations of the 
Indians living at the Great Falls. They appeared 
to be of the same nation with those we had seen 
above, resembling them, indeed, in everything, ex- 
cept that their language, though essentially the same, 
has some words different. They have all pierced 
noses ; and the men, when in full dress, wear a long 
tapering piece of shell or bead put through the nose. 
These people did not, however, receive us with as 
much cordiality as we had been accustomed to. 
They were poor, but we were able to purchase from 
them some wood to make a fire, of which, however, 
they had but little, and which they said they brought 
from the Great Falls. The hills in this neighbour- 

* The Indians, according to Parker, call the Falls of the 
Columbia " Tum-Tum." They use the same expression for th« 
beating of the heart. 



THE SNAKE INDIANS. 61 

hood are high and rugged, and a few scattered trees, 
either small pine or scrubby white oak, were occa- 
sionally seen on them. From the last rapids we ob- 
served a conical mountain towards the southwest, 
which the Indians said was not far to the left of the 
Great Falls ; and from its vicinity to that place, we 
called it the Timm, or Falls Mountain. The country 
through which we passed is furnished with several 
fine springs, which rise either high up the sides of 
the hills, or else in the river meadows, and discharge 
themselves into the Columbia. We could not help 
remarking that the fishing establishments of the In- 
dians, both on the Columbia and the waters of 
Lewis's River, are almost universally on the right 
bank. On inquiry, we were led to believe that the 
reason of thit^' may be found in their fear of the 
Snake Indians ; between whom and themselves, 
considering the warlike temper of that people, and 
the peaceful habits of the river tribes, it is very nat- 
ural that the latter should be anxious to interpose 
so good a barrier. These Indians are described as 
residing on a great river to the south, and as always 
at war with the people of this neighbourhood. One 
of our chiefs pointed out to-day a spot on the left, 
where, not many years ago, a great battle had been 
fought, in which numbers of both nations were 
killed." 

The following day they passed an island four 
miles in length, and about midway of it a large riv- 
er appearing to come from the southeast, two hun- 
dred yards wide at its mouth, and increasing the 
volume of the Columbia one fourth. The Indians 
called it the Towahnahiooks. Six miles below this, 
near some Indian huts, they came to the commence- 
ment of the Great Falls. " Here," continues the 
Journal, " we halted, and immediately on landing 
walked down, accompanied by an old Indian from 
the huts, to examine the falls, in order to ascertain 
on which side we could make a portage most easily. 



62 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

We soon discovered that the nearest route was on 
the right side, and therefore dropped down to the 
head of the rapid, unloaded the canoes, and took all 
the baggage over by land to the foot of it. The dis- 
tance is twelve hundred yards. On setting out, we 
crossed a solid rock about one third of the whole 
distance ; then reached a space of two hundred yards 
wide, which forms a hollow, where the loose sand 
from the low grounds has been driven by the winds, 
and is steep and loose, and therefore difficult to 
pass ; the rest of the route was over firm and solid 
ground. The labour of crossing would have been 
very great, if the Indians had not assisted us in car- 
rying some of the heavy articles on their horses ; 
but for this service they repaid themselves so adroit- 
ly, that, on reaching the foot of the rapids, we found 
it necessary to form a camp in a position which 
would secure us from their pilfering, which we 
dreaded much more than their hostility. Near our 
camp were five large huts, the occupants being en- 
gaged in drying fish and preparing it for market. 

" Their manner of doing this is, first, opening the 
fish and exposing it to the sun on scaffolds. When 
it is sufficiently dried, it is pounded between two 
stones till it is completely pulverized, and is then 
placed in a basket about two feet long and one in 
diameter, neatly made of grass and rushes, and lined 
with the skin of a salmon stretched and dried for the 
purpose. Here it is pressed down as hard as possi- 
ble, and the top covered with the skins of fish, which 
are secured by cords through the holes of the bas- 
ket. The baskets are then put in some dry situa- 
tion, the corded part upward, seven being usually 
placed as closely as they can be together, and five 
on the top of them. The whole is then wrapped up 
in mats, and made fast by cords, over which other 
mats are thrown. Twelve of these baskets, each of 
which contains from ninety to a hundred pounds, 
form a stack, which is now left till it is sent to mar- 



PORTAGE ROUND THE GREAT FALLS. 63 

Ket. Fish thus prepared is kept sound and sweet 
for several years, and great quantities of it, they told 
us, were sent to the Indians living below the falls, 
whence it found its way to the whites who visited 
the mouth of the Columbia. We observed, both near 
the lodges and on the rocks in the river, great num- 
bers of stacks of these pounded fish. 

"Besides fish, these people supphed us with fil- 
berts and berries, and we purchased a dog for sup- 
per; but it was with much difficulty that we were 
able to buy wood enough to cook it. In the course 
of the day we were visited by many Indians, from 
whom we learned that the principal chiefs of the 
bands residing in this neighbourhood were now hunt- 
ing in the mountains towards the southwest. On 
that side of the river none of the tribes have any 
permanent habitations ; and on inquiry, we were con- 
firmed in our belief that it was from the fear of be- 
ing attacked by the Snake Indians, with whom they 
are constantly at war. This nation they represent 
as being very numerous, and residing in a great 
number of villages on the Towahnahiooks, where 
they live principally on salmon. That river, they 
add, is aot obstructed by rapids above its mouth, but 
becomes large, and reaches to a considerable dis- 
tance ; the first villages of the Snake Indians being 
twelve days' journey, on a course about southeast 
from this place. 

" October 23. Having ascertained from the In- 
dians, and by our own examination, the best mode 
of bringing down the canoes, it was concluded, as 
the river was divided into several narrow channels 
by rocks and islands, to follow the route adopted by 
the Indians themselves. This labour Captain Clarke 
commenced in the morning, and, after crossing to 
the other side of the river, hauled the canoes over a 
point of land, so as to avoid a perpendicular fall of 
seventy feet. At the distance of four hundred and 
fifty-seven yards we reached the water, and em- 

'II.— F 



64 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 

barked at a place where a long, rocky island com- 
presses the channel within the space of a hundred 
and fifty yards, so as to form nearly a semicircle. 
On leaving this rocky island the channel ts some- 
what wider, but a second and much larger island of 
hard black rock still divides it from the main stream, 
while on the left shore it is closely bordered by per- 
pendicular cliffs. Having descended in this way for 
a mile, we reached a pitch of the river, which, being 
divided by two large rocks, descends with great ra- 
pidity down a fall eight feet in height. As the boats 
could not be navigated down this sleep descent, we 
were obliged to land, and let them down as slowly 
as possible by strong ropes of elkskin, which we had 
prepared for the purpose. They all passed in safety 
except one, which, being loosed by the breaking of 
the ropes, was driven down with all the force of the 
current, but afterward recovered by the Indians be- 
low. With this rapid ends the first pitch of the 
Great Falls, which are not so remarkable in point 
of height as for the singular manner in which the 
rocks divide its channel. From the marks every- 
where perceivable at these falls, it is obvious that, in 
the high floods in the spring, the water bdow the 
falls rises nearly to a level with that above. Of this 
rise, occasioned by obstructions we had not yet seen, 
the salmon must avail themselves to pass up the 
river, and in such multitudes that that fish is almost 
the only one caught in great abundance above the 
falls : below these, however, we observed the salm- 
on trout, and the heads of a smaller species of trout, 
which are in great numbers, and which they are now 
burying, to be used for winter food. A hole being 
dug, the sides and bottom are lined with straw, over 
which skins are laid ; and on these the fish, after 
being well dried, is placed, covered with other skins, 
and the hole closed with a layer of earth twelve or 
fifteen inches deep. 
" About three o'clock we reached the lower camp ; 



BEAUTIFUL CANOES. 65 

but our joy at having accomplished this object was 
somewhat diminished by the persecution of a new 
acquaintance. On reaching the upper point of the 
portage, we found that the Indians had been en- 
camped there not long since, and had left behind 
them multitudes of fleas. These sagacious tor- 
mentors were so well pleased to exchange the straw 
and fish skins in which they had been living for a 
more comfortable residence, that we were soon cov- 
ered with them ; and during the portage the men 
were obliged to strip to the skin, in order to brush 
them from their bodies. They were not, however, 
so easily dislodged from our clothes, and accompa- 
nied us in great numbers to our camp. 

" We saw no game except a sea-otter, which was 
shot in the narrow channel as we were coming down, 
but we could not get it. Having, therefore, scarcely 
any provisions, we purchased eight small fat dogs : 
a food to which we were compelled to have recourse, 
as the Indians were very unwilling to sell us any of 
their good fish, which they reserved for the market 
below. Fortunately, however, habit had completely 
overcome the repugnance which we felt at first at 
eating this animal, and the dog, if not a favourite 
dish, was always an acceptable one. The meridian 
altitude of to-day gave 45° 42' 57.3" north as the lat- 
itude of our camp. 

" On the beach, near the Indian huts, we observed 
two canoes of a different shape and size from any 
which we had hitherto seen. One of these we got 
by giving our smallest canoe, a hatchet, and a few 
trinkets to the owner, who said he had obtained it 
from a white man below the falls in exchange for a 
horse. These canoes were very beautifully made : 
wide in the middle, and tapering towards each end, 
with curious figures carved on ihe bow. They were 
thin, but, being strengthened by crossbars about an 
inch in diameter, tied with strong pieces of bark 
through holes in the sides, were able to bear very 



66 LEWIS AND CLAUKe's EXPEDITION. 

heavy burdens, and seemed calculated to live in th* 
roughest water. 

" A great number of Indians both from above and 
below the falls visited us this day, and towards 
evening we were informed b)' one of the chiefs who 
had accompanied us, that he had overheard that the 
Indians below intended to attack us as we went down 
the river ; but, being at all times ready for an attempt 
of that sort, we were not under any particular appre- 
hensions at this intelligence : we therefore merely 
examined our arms, and increased the ammunition 
to one hundred rounds. Our chiefs, who had not the 
same motives of confidence, were by no means so 
much at their ease ; and when at night they saw the 
Indians leave us earlier than usual, their suspicions 
of an intended attack were confirmed, and they were 
very much alarmed. The next morning, 

"October 24, the Indians .approached us with ap- 
parent caution, and behaved with more than usual 
reserve. Our two chiefs, by whom these circumstan- 
ces were not unobserved, now told us that they 
wished to return home; that they could no longer be 
of any service to us, as they could not understand the 
language of the people below the falls; that these 
people formed a different nation from their own ; 
that the two people had been at war with each other; 
and as the Indians had expressed a resolution to at- 
tack us, they would certainly kill them. We endeav- 
oured to quiet their fears, and requested them to stay 
two nights longer, in which time we would see the 
Indians below, and make a peace between the two 
nations. They replied that they were anxious to re- 
turn, to look after their horses. We, however, insist- 
ed on their remaining with us, not only in the hope of 
bringing about an accommodation between them and 
their enemies, but because they might be able to de- 
tect any hostile designs against us, and also assist us 
in passing the next falls, which were not far off, and 
represented as very difficult: they at length consent- 



NARROWNESS OF THE RIVER. 67 

ed to our proposal. About nine o'clock we pro- 
ceeded, and on leaving our camp near the lower fall^ 
found the river about four hundred yards wide, with 
a current more rapid than usual, though with no per 
ceptible descent. At the distance of two and a hali 
miles it widened into a large bend or basin on tho 
right, at the beginning of which were three Indian 
nuts. At the extremity of this basin stood a high 
olack rock, which, rising perpendicularly from the 
right shore, seemed to run wholly across the river : 
so totally, indeed, did it appear to stop the passage, 
that we could not see where the water escaped, ex- 
cept that the current was seemingly drawn with more 
than usual velocity to the left of the rock, where was 
heard a great roaring. We landed at the huts of the 
Indians, who went with us to the top of the rock, 
from which we had a view of all the difficulties of the 
channel. We were now no longer at a loss to ac- 
count for the rising of the river at the falls ; for this 
tremendous rock was seen stretching across the 
river, to meet the high hills on the left shore, leaving 
a channel of only forty-five yards wide, through 
which the whole body of the (yolumbia pressed its 
way. The water, thus forced into so narrow a pas- 
sage, was thrown into whirls, and swelled and boiled 
in every part with the wildest agitation. But the 
alternative of carrying the boats over this high rock 
was almost impossible in our present situation; and 
as the chief danger seemed to be, not from any ob- 
structions in the channel, but from the great waves 
and whirlpools, we resolved to attempt the passage, 
in the hope of being able, by dexterous steering, to 
descend in safety. This we undertook, and with 
great care were able to get through, to the astonish- 
ment of the Indians in the huts we had just passed, 
who now collected to see us from the top of the rock. 
The channel continued thus confined for the space 
of about half a mile, when the rock ceased. We 
passed a single Indian hut at the foot of it, where the 



6& LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

river again enlarged itself to the width of two hundred 
yards, and at the distance of a mile and a half stop- 
ped to view a very bad rapid, formed by the rocky 
islands which divided the channel, and the lower and 
larger of which was in the middle of the river. The 
appearance of this place was so unpromising, that 
we unloaded all the most valuable articles, such as 
guns, ammunition, our papers, &c., and sent them by 
land, with such of the men as could not swim, to the 
extremity of the rapid. We then descended with 
the canoes, two at a time, and though they took in 
some water, we all passed down safely ; after which 
we made two miles, and stopped in a deep bend of 
the river towards the right, and encamped a little 
above a large village of twenty-one houses. Here we 
landed, and as it was late before all the canoes joined 
us, we were obliged to remain, the difficulties of the 
navigation having permitted us to make only six 
miles. This village was situated at the extremity 
of a deep bend towards the right, and immediately 
above a ledge of high rocks, twenty feet above the 
marks of the highest flood, but broken in several 
places so as to form channels, which were then dry, 
extending nearly across the river : this forms the sec- 
ond fall, or the place, most probably, which the In- 
dians mean by the word 'J'imm. While the canoes 
were coming up, Captain Clarke walked down with 
two men to examine these channels. On the rocks 
here the Indians are accustomed to dry fish; and as 
the season for that purpose was now over, the poles 
which they use were tied up very securely in bundles, 
and placed on the scaffolds. The stock of dried and 
pounded fish was so abundant, that he counted one 
hundred and seven heaps, making more than ten 
thousand pounds of that provision. After examining 
the narrows as well as the lateness of the hour would 
permit, he returned to the village through a rocky, 
open country, infested with polecats. This village, 
the residence of a tribe called the Echeloots, con- 



MODE OF BUILDING THEIR HUTS. 69 

sisted of houses scattered promiscuously over an el' 
evated situation, near a mound more than thirty feet 
above the common level, with some remains of houses 
on it, and having every appearance of being artifi- 
cial. 

" The houses, which were the first wooden build- 
ings we had seen since leaving the Illinois coun- 
try, were nearly equal in size, and exhibited a very 
singular appearance. A large hole, twenty feet 
wide and thirty in length, was dug to the depth of 
six feet ; the sides of which were lined with split 
pieces of timber rising just above the surface of the 
ground, and smoothed to the same width by burn- 
ing, or by being shaved with small iron axes. These 
timbers were secured in their erect position by a 
pole stretched along the side of the building near 
the eaves, and supported on a strong post fixed at 
each corner. The timbers at the gable ends rose 
gradually higher, the middle pieces being the broad- 
est. At the top of these was a sort of semicircle, 
made to receive a ridge-pole the whole length of the 
house, propped by an additional post in the middle, 
and forming the top of the roof. From this ridge- 
pole to the eaves of the house were placed a num- 
ber of small poles or rafters, secured at each end 
by fibres of the cedar. On these poles, which were 
connected by small transverse bars of wood, was 
laid a covering of white cedar, or arbor vitce, kept on 
by strands of cedar fibres ; but^a small space along 
tlie whole length of the ridge-pole was left uncov- 
ered, for the purpose of light, and of permitting the 
smoke to pass out. The roof, thus formed, had a 
descent about equal to that common among us, and 
near the eaves it was perforated with a number of 
small holes, made, most probably, for the discharge 
of arrows in case of an attack. The only entrance 
was by a small door at the gable end, cut out of the 
middle piece of timber, twenty-nine and a half inch- 
es high, fourteen inches broad, and reaching only 



70 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION, 

eighteen inches above the earth. Before this hole 
was hung a mat, and on pushing it aside and crawl- 
ing through, the descent was by a small ladder, made 
in the form of those used among us. One half of 
the inside was used as a place of deposite for their 
dried fish, in which there were large quantities 
stored avyay, and which, with a few baskets of ber- 
ries, formed the provisions for the family ; the other 
half, adjoining the door, was for the accommodation 
of the family. On each side were arranged, near the 
walls, small beds of mats, placed on little scaffolds 
or bedsteads raised from eighteen inches to three 
feet from the ground, and in the middle of the va- 
cant space was the fire, or sometimes two or three 
fires, where, as, indeed, is usually the case, the house 
contained three families, 

"The inhabitants received us with much kind- 
ness, invited us to their houses, and in the evening, 
after our camp had been formed, came in great num- 
bers to see us, accompanied by a principal chief 
and several warriors of the nation below the Great 
Narrows. We made use of this opportunity to at- 
tempt a reconciliation between them and our two 
chiefs, and to put an end to the war which had dis- 
turbed the two nations. On representing to the 
chiefs the evils which the war inflicted on them, and 
the wants and privations to which it subjected them, 
they soon became disposed to be reconciled with 
each other, and we ^ad some reason to believe in 
the sincerity of their mutual prorpises, that the war 
should no longer be continued, and that in future 
they would live in peace with each other. On con- 
cluding this negotiation, we proceeded to invest the 
chief with the insignia of command — a medal and 
some small articles of clothing; after which the 
violin was produced, and our men danced, to the 
great delight of the Indians. 

" October 25. We walked down with several of 
the Indians to view the part of the narrows which 



PASSAGE OF A DANGEROUS RAPID. 71 

thev represented as most dangerous, and found it 
very diiiicult ; and, as the portage was^ impractica- 
ble with our large canoes, we concluded to carry 
our most valuable articles by land, and then hazard 
the passage. We therefore returned to the village, 
and, having sent some of the party with our best 
stores, to make a portage, and placed others on the 
rocks, to assist, by means of ropes, the canoes that 
might meet with any difficulty, we began the de- 
scent, in the presence of a great number of Indians 
who had collected to witness the exploit. ine 
channel for three miles is worn through a hard, 
rough, black rock, from fifty to one hundred yards 
wide, in which the water swells and boils in a tre- 
mendous manner. The first three canoes escaped 
very well; the fourth, however, nearly filled with 
water; and the fifth passed through with taking m 
only a small quantity of water. At half a mile we 
had got through the worst part, and, having reload- 
ed oSr canoes, went on very well for the remaming 
two and a half miles, except that one of the boats 
was nearly lost by running against a rock. At tne 
end of this channel, in which the Indians told us 
thev caught as many salmon as they wished, we 
reached a deep ba3in or bend of the river towards 
the right, near the entrance of which were two rocks. 
We crossed the basin, which has a quiet and gentle 
current, and at the distance of a mile from its com- 
mencement, and a little below where the river re- 
sumes its channel, reached a rock which divides it. 
At this place we met our old chiefs, who, when we 
began the portage, had walked down to a village be- 
low, to smoke a pipe of friendship on the renewal 
of peace. Just after our meeting we saw a chiet ol 
the village above, with a party who had been out 
hunlina, and were then crossing the river with their 
hors(!s"on their way home. We landed to smoke 
with this chief, whom we found to be a bold-looking 
man, of a pleasing appearance, about fifty years ot 



72 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

age, and dressed in a war-jacket, cap, leggins, and 
moccasins. We presented him with a medal and 
other small articles, and lie gave us some meat, of 
which he had been able to procure but liitle ; for on 
his route he met with a war-party of Indians from 
the Towahnahiooks, between whom he had a battle. 
We here smoked a parting pipe with our two faith- 
ful friends, the chiefs who had accompanied us from 
the heads of the river, and who had now each 
bought a horse, intending to go home by land. On 
leaving this rock the current of the river is gentle, 
but its bed is strewed with a great number of rocks 
for several miles, when it becomes a beautiful, still 
stream, about half a mile wide. At five miles from 
the large bend we came to the mouth of a creek 
twenty yards in breadth, heading in a range of 
mountains which run S.S.W. and S.W. for a long 
distance, and discharging a considerable quantity of 
water : it is called by the Indians Quenett. We 
halted below it, under a high point of rocks on the 
left, and formed a camp on their top to take some 
celestial observations." * * * "From this rock, the 
pinnacle of the round mountain covered with snow, 
which we had seen a short distance below the Forks 
of the Columbia, and called the Fajls or Timm Mount- 
ain, was south 43° west, and about thirty-seven miles 
distant." * * * 

" Both above and below the narrows, as well as in 
them, we had seen a great number of sea-otter, and 
in the evening a deer was killed, and numerous 

traces of that animal were observed near the camp." 

* * *■ 

" October 26. The morning was fine, and we sent 
six men to hunt, and to collect rosin to pitch the ca- 
noes, which, by being frequently hauled over the 
rocks, had become very leaky. They were also 
drawn up to dry, and on examination it was found 
that many of the articles on board of them had be- 
come spoiled by being repeatedly wet. We were 



INTERVIEW WITH TWO CHIEFS. 



73 



occupied with the observations necessary to deter- 
mine our longitude, and with conferences with the 
Indians, many of whom came on horseback to the 
opposite shore in the fore part of the day, and show^ 
ed some anxiety to cross over to us ; we did not, how- 
ever, think it expedient to send for them, but towards 
eveninff two chiefs, with fifteen men, came over 
in a small canoe. They proved to be the tvvo princi- 
pal chiefs of the tribes at and above the Falls, and 
had been absent on a hunting excursion as we pass- 
ed their residence : each of them, on arriving, made 
us a present of deer's flesh, and of small white cakes 
made of roots. Being anxious to ingratiate our- 
selves with them so as to ensure a friendly reception 
on our return, we treated them with all the kindness 
we could show. We accordingly acknowledged the 
chiefs giving a medal of the small size, a red silk 
handkerchief, an armband, a knife, and a piece of 
paint to each, ana small presents to others ot the 
party, with half a deer. These attentions were not 
lost on them, for they appeared very weH pleased. 
At night a fire was made in the middle of Dur camp, 
and as the Indians sat round it, our men danced to 
the music of the violin, which so delighted them 
that several resolved to remain with us through the 
night : the rest crossed the river. All the tribes in 
this neighbourhood were at war with the Snake In- 
dians, whom they described as living on the 1 owah- 
nahiooks, and whose nearest town was, they said, 
four days' march from this place, and in a direction 
nearly southwest." * * * • j %-u 

" October 27. The two chiefs who remained with 
us were joined by seven Indians, who came in a ca- 
noe from below. To these men we were very par- 
ticular in our attentions, smoking and eating \yith 
them : but some of them being tempted, by the sight 
of our goods that were exposed to dry, to take lib- 
erties with them, we were under the necessity ot 
puitina an immediate check to it, and this displeas- 



74 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ed them so much that they returned down the river 
in a very ill humour. The two chiefs, however, re- 
mained with us till the evening, when they crossed 
the river to their party. 

" Before they went we obtained from them a vocab- 
ulary of the Echeloot, their native language ; and, 
on comparison, were surprised at its difference from 
the Eneeshur tongue. In fact, although the Eche- 
loots, who live at the Great Narrows, are not more 
than six miles from the Eneeshurs, who reside at 
and above the Great Falls, the two people are sep- 
arated by a broad distinction of language. The 
Eneeshurs are understood by all the tribes on the 
Columbia above the Falls ; but at that place the}^ 
meet with the unintelligible language of the Eche- 
loots, which descends the river from thence a con- 
siderable distance. Yet this may, after all, be only 
a difference of dialect, and not a radical difference, 
since in both languages many words are the same ; 
and the identity cannot be accounted for by suppo- 
sing that their neighbourhood has interwoven them 
into their daily conversation, since the same words 
are equally familiar among all the Flathead bands 
we have passed. The strange clucking or guttural 
noise which first struck us, is common to all these 
tribes. They also flatten the heads of their children 
in nearly the same manner ; but we now begin to 
observe that the heads of the males, as well as of 
the other sex, are subjected to this operation ; where- 
as, among the mountains, the custom is confined al- 
most entirely to the females." * * * 

" October 28. The morning was cool and windy. 
Having dried our goods, we were about setting out, 
when three canoes came from above to visit us, and 
two others from below for the same purpose. 
Among the Indians in these last was one who wore 
his hair in a queue, and had on a round hat and a 
sailor's jacket, which he said he had obtained from 
the people below the Great Rapids, who bought 
them from the whites." 



THE CHILLUCKITTEQUAWS. 75 

This interview being over, the party again started 
to descend the river, and after proceeding four miles, 
landed near a small Indian settlement of eight houses. 
"On entering one of them," says the Journal, 
'' we saw a British musket, a cutlass, and several 
brass tea-kettles, which they seemed to prize very 
highly. There were also figures of men, birds, and 
different animals, cut and painted on the boards which 
form the sides of the room ; and though the work- 
manship of these uncouth figures was very rough, 
they were as highly esteemed by the Indians as the 
finest frescoes of more civilized people. This tribe 
is called the Chilluckittequaw, and their language, 
although somewhat different from that of the Eche- 
loots, has many of the same words, and is sufficient- 
ly intelligible to the neighbouring Indians. We ob- 
tained from them a vocabulary; and, after buying 
five small dogs, some dried berries, and a white bread 
or cake made of roots, left them." * * * 

The wind was so high, however, that after pro- 
ceeding a mile they were obhged to land, and stop 
for the day. " We had not been long on shore," 
proceeds the narrative, " before a canoe, with a man, 
his wife, and two children, came from below, through 
the high waves, with a few roots to sell ; and soon 
after we were visited by many Indians from the vil- 
lage above, with whom we smoked and conversed. 
The canoes used by these people were, like those 
already described, built of white cedar or pine, very 
light, wide in the middle, and tapering towards the 
ends, the bow being raised, and ornamented with 
carvings of the heads of animals. As the canoe is 
their chief vehicle for transportation, the Indians 
*iave acquired great dexterity in its management, 
.ind guide it safely over the highest waves. They 
have, among their utensils, bowls and baskets very 
neatly made of bark and grass, in which they boil 
their provisions." * * * 

" October 29. The morning was cloudy, and the 



76 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

wind from the west ; but, as it had abated its vio- 
lence, we set out at daylight. At the distance of 
four miles we passed a creek on the right, one mile 
below which was a village of seven houses on the 
same side. This was the residence of the principal 
chief of the Chilluckittequaw nation, who we found 
was the same between whom and our two chiefs 
we had made a peace at the Echeloot village. He 
received us very kindly, and set before us pounded 
fish, filberts, nuts, the berries of the sacacommis, 
and white bread made of roots. We gave, in re- 
turn, a bracelet of riband to each of the women of 
the house, with which they were very much pleas- 
ed. The chief had several articles, such as scarlet 
and blue cloth, a sword, a jacket, and a hat, which 
must have been procured from the whites, and on 
one side of the room were two wide, split boards, 
placed together so as to make space for a rude fig- 
ure of a man cut and painted on them. On pointing 
to this, and asking him what it meant, he said some- 
thing, of which all that we understood was ' good,' 
and then stepped up to the painting, and took out 
his bow and quiver, which, with some other warlike 
instruments, were kept behind it. He then directed 
his wife to hand him his medicine-bag, from which 
he drew out fourteen forefingers, which he told us 
had belonged to the same number of his enemies, 
whom he had killed in fighting with the nations to 
the southeast, in which direction he pointed ; allu- 
ding, no doubt, to the Snake Indians, the common 
enemy of the tribes on the Columbia. This bag is 
usually about two feet in length, and contains roots, 
pounded dirt, &c., which only the Indians know how 
to appreciate. It is suspended in the middle of the 
lodge ; and it is considered as a species of sacrilege 
for any one but the owner to touch it. It is an ob- 
ject of religious fear; and, from its supposed sanc- 
tity, is the chief place for depositing their medals 
and more valuable articles. They have likewise 



FINGERS PRESERVED AS TROPHIES. 77 

gmall bags, which they preserve in their great med- 
icine-bag, from whence they are taken, and worn 
around their waists and necks as amulets against 
any real or imaginary evils. This was the first 
time we had been apprized that the Indians ever 
carried from the field any other trophy than the 
scalp. These fingers were shown with great exul- 
tation; and, after an harangue, which we were left 
to presume was in praise of his exploits, the chief 
carefully replaced them among the valuable contents 
of his red medicine-bag. The inhabitants of this 
village being part of the same nation with those of 
the village we had passed above, the language of the 
two was the same, and their houses were of similar 
form and materials, and calculated to contain about 
thirty souls. They were unusually hospitable and 
good-humoured, so that we gave to the place the 
name of the Friendly village. We breakfasted here ; 
and after purchasing twelve dogs, four sacks of fish, 
and a few dried berries, proceeded on our journey. 
The hills as we passed were high, with steep, rocky 
sides, with pine and white oak, and an undergrowth 
of shrubs scattered over them." 

Four miles farther on they passed the mouth of a 
small river on the right, which they called Cataract 
River; and twelve miles beyond this, another stream 
on the left, to which they gave the name of Labieshe, 
after one of the party. Here were the first houses 
which they had noticed on the right side of the Colum- 
bia. They landed for the night at three Indian huts 
on the right bank, after having made thirty-two 
miles. 

" On our first arrival," says the Journal, " the m- 
habitants seemed surprised, but not alarmed, at our 
appearance ; and we soon became intimate by means 
of smoking, and, what was ever a favourite amuse- 
ment with the Indians, the music of the violin. They 
gave us fruit, some roots, and root-bread, and we 
nurchased from them three dogs. The houses of 



78 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

these people were similar to those c-f the Indiana 
above, and their language the same. Their dress 
also, consisting of robes made of the skin of the wolf, 
deer, elk, and wild-cat, was nearly after the same 
fashion. Their hair was worn in plaits down each 
shoulder, and round their neck was a strip of skin, 
with the tail of the animal hanging over the breast. 
Like the Indians above, they were fond of otter skins, 
and gave a great price for them. We here saw the 
skin of a mountain sheep, which they said lived 
among the rocks in the mountains. It was covered 
with white hair; the wool was long, thick, and coarse, 
with long, coarse hair on the top of the neck, and on 
the back resembhng somewbat the bristles of a goat. 
Immediately behind the village was a pond, in which 
were great numbers of small swan." 

The Columbia was here about three fourths of a 
mile wide, with a gentle current, though occasionally 
obstructed by rocks. In proceeding the following 
day they passed a river on the right, sixty yards in 
width, which, after one of their men, they called Cru- 
satte's River. About two and a half miles below 
this they came to a rapid, which is called the Great 
Shoot of the river, where they found it necessary to 
terminate their voyage for the day. It became 
necessary to explore the country to ascertain the 
best route for a portage, and Captain Clarke start- 
ed for this purpose, soon after landing. The night 
obliging him to return after he had proceeded about 
three miles, he resumed his examination the next 
morning. 

"At the extremity of a basin," says the narrative, 
" in which was situated the island where we were en- 
camped, several rocks and rocky islands were scat- 
tered along the bed of the river. The rocks on each 
side had fallen down from the mountains, the one on 
the left being high, and the hill on the right, which was 
lower, having bodily shd into the river, so that the cur- 
rent was here compressed within a space of one hun- 



INDIAN BURIAL-PLACE. 79 

dred and fift}^ yards. Within this narrow limit it runs 
for the distance of four hundred yards with great ra- 
pidity, swelling over the rocks with a fall of about 
twenty feet. It then widens to two hundred paces, 
and the current for a short distance becomes gentle; 
but a mile and a half farther on, opposite to an old 
Indian village, i^ is obstructed by a very bad rapid, 
where the waves are unusually high, the river being 
confined between large rocks, many of which are at 
the surface of the water," 

Following the same route he had taken the day 
before, two and a half miles below the shoot he struck 
the river at a point where the Indians commence 
their portage round the rapids. From this place he 
sent one of his men up the stream, to ascertain if it 
were practicable to bring down the canoes by water; 
while with the other he proceeded farther down 
(the rapids extending as far as he could see), when 
at the distance of a mile and a half, in the midst of a 
dense wood, he came to an ancient burial-place : "it 
consisted," says the journalist, "of eight vaults, 
formed of pine or cedar boards closely connected, 
each about eight feet square and six in height : the 
top was covered with boards sloping a little, so as to 
carry off the rain. Their direction was east and 
west ; the door being on the eastern side, partially 
stopped with wide boards, and decorated with rude 
pictures of men and animals. On entering, we found 
in some of them four dead bodies, carefully wrapped 
ill skins tied with cords of grass and bark, and lying 
on a mat in an east and west direction : the othera 
contained only bones, which were in some of them 
piled to the height of four feet. On the tops of the 
vaults, and on poles attached to them, were hung 
brass kettles and fryisg-pans with holes in their bot- 
toms, baskets, bowls, sea-shells, skins, pieces of 
cloth, hair, bags of trinkets and small bones, the 
offerings of friendship or affection, which a pious 
veneration had preserved from the ferocity of war, 

II.^G 



80 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

and the more dangerous temptations of individual 
selfishness. The whole of the walls, as well as the 
door, were ornamented with strange figures cut and 
painted on them ; and, besides these, there were sev- 
eral wooden images of men, some of them so old and 
decayed as to have almost lost their shape, all placed 
against the sides of the vaults. Neither these ima- 
ges, nor those in the houses we had lately visited, 
appeared to be at all the objects of adoration. In 
this place they were most probably intended for re- 
semblances of the deceased; and those we had ob- 
served in the houses occupied the most conspicuous 
part, but were treated more like ornaments than ob- 
jects of worship. Near the vaults that were stand- 
ing were the remains of others, completely rotted and 
covered with moss ; and as they were formed of the 
most durable pine and cedar timber, it would appear 
ihat this retired spot had long been a depository for 
the dead." 

After proceeding down the river somewhat farther, 
and carefully examining the country. Captain Clarke 
returned to the encampment. 

" We had an opportunity to-day," says the Jour- 
nal, " of witnessing the hardihood of the Indians of 
the neighbouring village. One of our men shot a 
goose, which fell into the river, and was floating 
rapidly towards the Great Shoot, when an Indian 
plunged in after it. The entire mass of the waters 
of the Columbia, rushing onward to descend the nar- 
row channel, hurried the bird along with great ra- 
pidity. The Indian followed it fearlessly to within 
one hundred and fifty feet of the rocks, where he 
would inevitably have been dashed to pieces ; when, 
seizing his prey, he turned round and swam to the 
shore with the utmost composure. We very will- 
ingly relinquished our right to the game in favour 
of one who had thus saved it at the imminent haz- 
ard of his life : he immediately set to work and 
picked off about half the feathers, and then, without 



DESCRIPTION OF INDIAN HOUSES. 81 

opening it, ran a stick through it, and carried it off 
to roast." 

The next day, November 1, following the exam- 
ple of some Indians who preceded them, they trans- 
ported their baggage and small canoe by land to the 
foot of the shoot ; and the four large canoes they 
managed to slide along on poles extended from one 
rock to another, occasionally availing themselves of 
small streams at the side of the river. They now 
re-embarked on board the boats, and, making their 
way with no little difficulty through other less for- 
midable rapids, at the distance of seven miles from 
the head of the Great Shoot they landed for the 
night. 

" The meridian altitude of to-day," proceeds the 
Journal, " gave us the latitude of 45° 44' 3". As we 
passed a village of four houses, we stopped to visit 
them. They vi^ere similar to those already descri- 
bed, but larger, from thirty-five to fifty feet long, 
and thirty feet wide, being sunk in the ground about 
six feet, and raised the same height above. Their 
beds were raised about four feet and a half above 
the floor, and the ascent to them was by a newly- 
painted ladder, with which every family is provided, 
and under them were stored their dried fish, while 
the space between the part of the beds on which 
they lay and the wall of the house was occupied by 
the nuts, roots, berries, and other provisions, spread 
on mats. The fireplace was about eight feet long 
and six feet wide, sunk a foot below the floor, and 
secured by a frame, with mats placed around for the 
family to sit on. In all of the houses were images 
of men of diff*erent shapes, placed as ornaments in 
the parts where they would be most seen. The in- 
habitants gave us nuts, berries, and some dried fish 
to eat ; and we purchased, among other articles, a 
hat made after their own taste, and such as they 
wear, without a brim. They asked high prices for 
all that they sold, observing that the whites below 



82 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

paid dear for whatever they carried to them. We 
could not learn precisely the nature of the trade car- 
ried on by the Indians with the inhabitants below. 
But, as their knowledge of the whites seemed to be 
very imperfect, and the only articles which they 
took to market, such as pounded fish, bear-graSvS, 
and roots, could not be objects of much foreign traf- 
fic, their intercourse appeared to be an intermediate 
trade with the natives near the mouth of the Colum- 
bia ; from whom they obtained, in exchange for their 
fish, roots, and bear-grass, blue and white beads, cop- 
per tea-kettles, brass armbands, some scarlet and 
blue robes, and a few articles of second-hand Euro- 
pean clothing. But their great object is to obtain 
beads : an article which holds the first place in their 
ideas of value, and to procure which they vi^ill sac- 
rifice their last garment and last mouthful of food. 
Independently of their fondness for them as an or- 
nament, these beads are employed as a medium of 
trade, by which they obtain from the Indians still 
higher up the river, robes, skins, root-bread, bear- 
grass, &c. These, in turn, make use of them to 
procure from the Indians in the Rocky Mountains 
bear-grass, pacheco, roots, robes, &c. 

" These Indians were rather below the common 
size, with high cheek-bones, their noses pierced, 
and, when in full dress, were ornamented with a ta- 
pering piece of white shell or wampum about two 
inches long. Their eyes were exceedingly sore and 
weak, many of them having only a single eye, and 
some were perfectly blind. Their teeth had prema- 
turely decayed, and in many instances were alto- 
gether worn away. Their general health, however, 
seemed to be good, the only disorder we remarked 
among them being tumours in different parts of the 
body. The women were small, and homely in their 
appearance ; their legs much swelled, and their knees 
remarkably large ; deformities which are no doubt 
«wing to the manner in which they sit on their hams 



LAST RAPID ON THE COLUMBIA. 83 

They go nearly naked, having only a piece of leather 
tied round the breast, falling thence nearly as low 
as the waist, with a small robe about three feet 
square, and a piece of leather tied between the legs. 
Their hair was su.ffered to hang loose in every direc- 
tion ; and in their persons, as well as in their cook- 
ery, they were filthy to a most disgusting degree. 
We here observed that the women universally have 
their heads flattened; and in many of the villages 
we have recently seen the female cliildren undergo 
the operation." 



CHAPTER IV. 

First Appearance of Tide-water in the Columbia River. — The 
Quicksand River. — Some Account of the Skilloot Indians. — 
The Party pass the Coweliske River. — Some Account of tho 
Wahkiacum Indians. — Arrival on the Borders of the Pacific. 
— Disagreeable and Critical Situation of the Party when first 
encamped. — Their Distress from incessant Torrents of Rain. 
— Exposed for thirty Days to this drenching Deluge, during 
which Time their Provisions are spoiled, and most of their 
few Articles of Merchandise destroyed. — Distress of the Party. 
— Adventure of Shannon, and his Danger from the Wahkia- 
cums. — Difficulty of finding a Place suitable for a permanent 
Encampment. — Visited by several Indians of different Tribes, 
on whom Medals were bestowed. 

" November 2. We now examined the rapid below 
more particularly, and the danger appearing to be 
too great for the loaded canoes, all those who could 
not swim were sent with the baggage by land. The 
canoes then passed safely down, and were reloaded. 
At the foot of the rapid we took a meridian altitude, 
and found our latitude to be 59° 45'' 45^''." 

This rapid forms the last of the descents of the 
Columbia; and immediately below it the river wi- 



84 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

dens, and tide-water commences. Shortly after start- 
ing they passed an island three miles in length and to 
which, from that plant being seen on it in great abun- 
dance, they gave the name of Strawberry Island. Di- 
rectly beyond were three small islands, and in the 
meadow to the right, at some distance from the hills 
in the background was a single perpendicular rock, 
which they judged to be not less than eight hun- 
dred feet high, and four hundred yards at the base, 
\vhich they called Beacon Rock. A little farther on 
they found the river a mile in breadth, and double this 
breadth four miles beyond. After making twenty- 
nine miles from the foot of the Great Shoot, they halt- 
ed for the night at a point where the river was two 
and a half miles wide. The character of the country 
they had passed through during the day was very dif- 
ferent from that they had lately been accustomed to, 
the hills being thickly covered with timber, chiefly of 
the pine species. The tide rose at their encampment 
about nine inches, and they saw great numbers 
of water-fowl, such as swan, geese, ducks of vari- 
ous kinds, gulls, &c. 

The next day, November 3d, they set off in com- 
pany with some Indians who had joined them the 
evening before. At the distance of three miles they 
passed a river on the left, to which, from the quan- 
tity of sand it bears along with it, they gave the name 
of Quicksand River. So great, indeed, was the 
quantity it had discharged into the Columbia, that 
that river was compressed to the width of half a mile, 
and the whole force of the current thrown against 
the right shore. Opposite to this was a large creek, 
which they called Seal River. The mountain which 
they had supposed to be the Mount Hood of Vancou- 
ver, now bore S. 85° E., about forty-seven miles 
distant. A bout three miles farther on they passed the 
lower mouth of Quicksand River, opposite to which 
was another large creek, and near it the head of an 
island three miles and a half in extent; and half a 



SKILLOOT VILLAGE. 85 

mile beyond it was another island, which they call- 
ed Diamond Island, opposite to which they encamp- 
ed, having made but thirteen miles' distance. Here 
they met with some Indians ascending the river, who 
stated that they had seen three vessels at its mouth. 

" Below Quicksand River," says the Journal, " the 
country is low, rich, and thickly wooded on each 
side of the Columbia ; the islands have less timber, 
and on them are numerous ponds, near which were 
vast quantities of fowl, such as swan, geese, brant, 
cranes, storks, white gulls, cormorants, and plover. 
The river is wide, and contains a great number of 
sea-otters. In the evening the hunters brought in 
game for a sumptuous supper." 

In continuing their descent the next day, they 
found Diamond Island to be six miles in length and 
three broad ; and near its termination were two oth- 
er islands. " Just below the last of these," proceeds 
the narrative, " we landed on the left bank of the ri^- 
er, at a village of twenty-five houses, all of which were 
thatched with straw, and built of bark except one, 
which was about fifty feet long, and constructed of 
boards, in the form of those higher up the river, from 
which it differed, however, in being completely above 
ground, and covered with broad, split boards. This 
village contained about two hundred men of the 
Skilloot nation, who seemed well provided with ca- 
noes, of which there were at least fifty-two, and 
some of them very large, drawn up in front of the 
village. On landing, we found an Indian from above, 
who had left us this morning, and who now invited 
^ls into a lodge of which he appeared to be part own- 
er. Here he treated us with a root, round in shape, 
and about the size of a small Irish potato, which they 
call wappatoo : it is the common arrow-head or sag 
ittifolia so much cultivated by the Chinese, and, when 
roasted in the embers till it becomes soft, has an 
agreeable taste, and is a very good substitute for 
bread. After [.-nrfhasing some of this root we re^ 



86 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 

sumed our journey, and at seven miles' distance came 
to the head of a large island near the left bank. On 
the right shore was a fine open prairie for about a 
mile, back of which the country rises, and is well sup- 
plied with timber, such as white oak, pine of different 
kinds, wild crab, and several species of undergrowth, 
while along the borders of the river there were only 
a few Cottonwood and ash trees. In this prairie 
were also signs of deer and elk. 

" When we landed for dinner a number of Indians 
came down, for the purpose, as we supposed, of pay- 
ing us a friendly visit, as they had put on their finest 
dresses. In addition to their usual covering, they 
had scarlet and blue blankets, sailors' jackets and 
trowsers, shirts, and hats. They had all of them 
either war-axes, spears, and bows and arrows, or 
muskets and pistols, with tin powder-flasks. We 
smoked with them, and endeavoured to show thena 
every attention, but soon found them very assuming 
and disagreeable companions. While we were eat- 
ing, they stole the pipe with which they were smo- 
king, and a greatcoat of one of the men. We imme- 
diately searched them all, and found the coat stuffed 
under the root of a tree near where they were sit- 
ting ; but the pipe we could not recover. Finding us 
discontented with them, and determined not to suffer 
any imposition, they showed their displeasure in the 
only way they dared, by returning in ill humour to 
their village. We then proceeded, and soon met 
two canoes, with twelve men of the same Skillool 
nation, who were on their way from below. The 
larger of the canoes was ornamented with the fig- 
ures of a bear in the bow and a man in the stern, 
both nearly as large as life, both made of painted 
wood, and very neatly fastened to the boat. In the 
same canoe were two Indians gaudily dressed, and 
with round hats. This circumstance induced us to 
give the name of Image Canoe to the large island, 
the lower end of which we were now passing, at the 



THE INDIANS BECOME TROUBLESOME. 87 

distance of nine miles from its head. We had seen 
two smaller islands to the right, and three more near 
its lower extremity." * * * " The river was now 
about a mile and a half in width, with a gentle cur- 
rent, and the bottoms extensive and low, but not sub- 
ject to be overflowed. Three miles below Image- 
Canoe Island we came to four large houses on the 
left side ; here we had a full view of the mountain 
which we had first seen from the Muscieshell Rapid 
on the 19th of October, and which we now found to 
be, in fact, the Mount St. Helen of Vancouver. It 
bore north 25° east, about ninety miles distant, rose 
in the form of a sugar-loaf to a very great height, 
and was covered with snow. A mile lower we pass- 
ed a single house on the left, and another on the 
right. The Indians had now learned so much of us 
that their curiosity was without any mixture of fear, 
and their visits became very frequent and trouble- 
some. We therefore continued on till after night, in 
hopes of getting rid of them ; but, after passing a 
village on each side, which, on account of the late- 
ness of the hour, we could only see indistinctly, we 
found there was no escaping from their importunities. 
We accordingly landed at the distance of seven 
miles below Image-Canoe Island, and encamped near 
a single house on the right, having made during the 
day twenty-nine miles. 

" The Skilloots that we passed to-day speak a 
language somewhat difterent from that of the Eche- 
loois or Chilluckittequaws near the long narrows. 
Their dress, however, is similar, except that the 
Skilloots possess more articles procured from the 
white traders ; and there is this farther difference 
between them, that the Skilloots, both males and fe- 
males, have the head flattened. Their principal food 
is fish, wappatoo roots, and some elk and deer, in kill- 
ing which with arrows they seem to be very expert; 
for during the short time we remained at the village, 
three deer were brought in. We also observed there 
d tame hlaireau. 

TT.— H 



88 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" As soon as we landed we were visited by two ca 
noes loaded with Indians, from whom we purchased 
a few roots. The grounds along the river continued 
low and rich, and among the shrubs were large 
quantities of vines resembling the raspberry. On 
the right, the low grounds were terminated, at the 
distance of five miles, by a range of high hills cov- 
ered with tall timber, and running southeast and 
northwest. The game, as usual, was very abun- 
dant ; and, among other birds, we observed some 
white geese, with a part of their wings black." 

Early the next morning they resumed their voy- 
age, passing several islands in the course of the 
day, the river alternately widening and contracting, 
and the hills sometimes retiring from, and at others 
approaching, its banks^. They stopped for the night 
at the distance of thirty-two miles from their last 
encampment. " Before landing," proceeds the Jour- 
nal, " we met two canoes, the largest of which had 
at the bow the image of a bear, and that of a man 
on the stern ; there were twenty-six Indians on 
board, but they proceeded upward, and we were left, 
for the first time since we reached the waters of the 
Columbia, without any of the natives with us du- 
ring the night. Besides other game, we killed a 
grouse much larger than the common kind, and ob- 
served along the shore a number of striped snakes. 
The river is here deep, and about a mile and a half 
in width. Here, too, the ridge of low mountains, 
running northwest and southeast, crosses the river, 
and forms the western boundary of the plain through 
which we had just passed. This great plain or val- 
ley begins above the mouth of Quicksand River, and 
is about sixty miles long in a straight line, while on 
the right and left it extends to a great distance : it 
is a fertile and delightful country, shaded by thick 
groves of tall timber, and watered by small ponds 
on both sides of the river. The soil is rich, and ca- 
pable of any species of culture ; but in the present 



THE COLUMBIA VALLEY. 89 

condition of the Indians, its thief production is the 
wappatoo root, which grows spontaneously and ex- 
clusively in this region. Sheltered as it is on both 
sides, the temperature is much milder than that of 
the surrounding country ; for even at this season of 
the year we observed but very little appearance of 
frost. It is inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians, 
who either reside in it permanently, or visit its wa- 
ters in quest of fish and loappatoo roots. We gave 
it the name of the Columbia Valley. 

" November 6. The morning was cool and rainy. 
We proceeded at an early hour, between high hills 
on both sides of the river, till at the distance of four 
miles we came to two tents of Indians in a small 
plain on the left, where the hills on the right recede 
a few miles, and a long narrow island stretches 
along the right shore. Behind this island is the 
mouth of a large river, a hundred and fifty yards 
wide, called by the Indians Coweliske. We halted 
on the island for dinner, but the redwood and green 
briers were so interwoven with the pine, alder, ash, 
a species of beech, and other trees, that the woods 
formed a thicket which our hunters could not pene- 
trate. Below the mouth of the Coweliske a very 
remarkable knob rises from the water's edge to the 
height of eighty feet, being two hundred paces round 
the base ; and as it is in a low part of the island, 
and at some distance from the high grounds, its ap- 
pearance is very singular. On setting out after din- 
ner we overtook two canoes going down to trade. 
One of the Indians, who spoke a few words of Eng- 
lish, mentioned that the principal person who traded 
with them was a Mr. Haley ; and he showed us a 
bow of iron, and several other things, which he said 
he had given him. Nine miles below Cowehske 
River is a creek on the same side ; and between 
them three smaller islands, one on the left shore, 
the other about the middle of the river, and a third 
near the lower end of the long narrow island, and 



90 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 

opposite a high cliff of black rocks on the loft, six- 
teen miles from our last night's encampment. Here 
we were overtaken by some Indians from tbe two 
tents we had passed in the morning, from whom we 
purchased wappatoo roots, salmon, trout, and two 
beaver-skins, for which last we gave five small fish- 
hooks." 

Here the mountains, which had been high and rug- 
ged on the left, retired from the river, as had the 
hills on the right, since leaving the Covveliske, and 
a beautiful plain was spread out before them. They 
met with several islands on their way, and having, 
at the distance of five miles, come to the termination 
of the plain, they proceeded for eight miles through 
a hilly country, and encamped for the night after 
having made twenty-nine miles. 

" November 7. The morning," proceeds the nar- 
rative, " was rainy, and the fog so thick that we 
could not see across the river. We observed, how- 
ever, opposite to our camp, the upper point of an isl- 
and, between which and the steep hills on the right 
we proceeded for five miles. Three miles lower 
was the beginning of an island, separated from the 
right shore by a narrow channel: down this we pro- 
ceeded, under the direction of some Indians whorw 
we had just met going up the river, and who return- 
ed in order to show us their villapce. It consisted 
of four houses only, situated on this channel, behind 
several marshy islands formed by two small creeks. 
On our arrival they gave us some fish, and we after- 
ward purchased wappatoo roots, fish, three dogs, and 
two otter-skins, for which we gave fish-hooks chief- 
ly, that being an article which they are very anxious 
to obtain. 

" These people seemed to be of a different nation 
from those we had just passed : they were low in 
stature, ill-shaped, and all had their heads flattened 
They called themselves Wahkiacum, and their Ian- 
guage diflfered from that of the tribes above, with 



DRESS OF THE WAHKIACUMS. 91 

whom they trade for wappatoo roots. The houses, 
too, were built in a different style, being raised en- 
tirely above ground, with the eaves about five feet 
high, and the door at the corner. Near the end op- 
posite to the door was a single fireplace, round which 
were the beds, raised four feet from the floor of 
earth : over the fire were hung fresh fish, and when 
dried they are stowed away with the loappatoo roots 
under the beds. The dress of the men was like that 
of the people above ; but the women were clad in a 
peculiar manner, the robe not reaching lower than 
the hip, and the body being covered in cold weather 
by a sort of corset of fur, curiously plaited, and 
reaching from the arms to the hip : added to this 
was a sort of petticoat, or, rather, tissue of white 
cedar bark, bruised or broken into small strands, and 
woven into a girdle by several cords of the same 
material. Being tied round the middle, these strands 
hang down as low as the knee in front, and to the 
middle of the leg behind : sometimes the tissue con- 
sists of strings of silk-grass, twisted and knotted at 
the end. 

" After remaining with them about an hour, we 
proceeded down the channel with an Indian dressed 
in a sailor's jacket for our pilot ; and, on reaching 
the main channel, were visited by some Indians, 
who have a temporary residence on a marshy island 
in the middle of the river, where there are great 
numbers of water-fowl. Here the mountainous 
country again approaches the river on the left, and 
a higher mountain is perceived towards the south- 
west. At a distance of twenty miles from our 
camp, we halted at a village of Wahkiacums, con- 
sisting of seven ill-looking houses, built in the same 
form with those above, and situated at the foot of 
the high hills on the right, behind two small marshy 
islands. We merely stopped to purchase some food 
and two beaver skins, and then proceeded. Oppo- 
site to these islands the hills on the left retire, and 



92 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the river widens into a kind of bay, crowded with 
low islands, subject to be overflowed occasionally 
by the tide. We had not gone lar from this village 
when, the fog suddenly clearing away, we were at 
last presented with the glorious sight of the ocean — 
that ocean, the object of all our labours, the reward 
of all our anxieties. This animating sight exhilara- 
ted the spirits of all the party, who were still more 
delighted on hearing the distant roar of the breakers. 
We went on with great cheerfulness along the high, 
mountainous country which bordered the right 
bank : the shore, however, was so bold and rocky, 
that we could not, until at a distance of fourteen 
miles from the last village, find any spot fit for an 
encampment. Having made during the day thirty- 
four miles, we now spread our mats on the ground, 
and passed the night in the rain. Here we were 
joined by our small canoe, which had been separa- 
ted from us during the fog this morning. Two In- 
dians from the last village also accompanied us to 
the camp ; but, having detected them in stealing a 
knife, they were sent off. 

" November 8. It rained this morning ; and, hav 
ing changed our clothing, which had been wet by 
yesterday's rain, we set out at nine o'clock. Imme- 
diately opposite our camp was a rock, at the distance 
of a mile in the river, about twenty feet in diameter 
and fifty in height, and towards the southwest some 
high mountains, one of which was covered with 
snow at the top. We proceeded past several low 
islands in the bend or bay of the river to the left, 
which was here five or six miles wide. On ihe 
right side we passed an old village, and then, at the 
distance of three miles, entered an inlet or niche, 
about six miles across, and making a deep bend of 
nearly five miles into the hills on the right shore, 
where it receives the waters of several creeks. We 
coasted along this inlet, which, from its little depth, 
we called Shallow Bay, and at the bottom of it stop. 



EXPOSED SITUATION OF THE PARTY. 93 

ped to dine, near the remains of an old village, from 
which, however, we kept at a cautious distance, as, 
like all these places, it was occupied by a plentiful 
stock of fleas. At this place we observed a number 
of fowl, among which we killed a goose, and two 
ducks exactly resembling in appearance and flavour 
the canvass-back duck of the Susquehanna. After 
dinner we took advantage of the returning tide to 
go on about three miles to a point on the right, eight 
miles distant from our camp ; but here the waves 
ran so high, and dashed about our. canoes so much, 
that several of the men became seasick. It was 
therefore judged imprudent to proceed in the present 
state of the weather, and we landed at the point. 
Our situation here was extremely uncomfortable : 
the high hills jutted in so closely that there was not 
room for us to lie level, nor to secure our baggage 
from the tide, and the water of the river was too salt 
to be used ; but the waves increasing so much that 
we could not move from the spot with safety, we 
fixed ourselves on the beach left by the ebb-tide, and, 
raising the baggage on poles, passed a disagreeable 
night, the rain during the day having wet us com- 
pletely, as, indeed, we had been for some days past. 
" November 9. Fortunately, the tide did not rise 
as high as our camp during the night ; but, being ac- 
companied by high winds from the south, the canoes, 
which we could not place beyond its reach, were 
filled with water, and saved with much difficulty : 
our position was exceedingly disagreeable ; but, as it 
was impossible to move from it, we waited for a 
change of weather. It rained, however, during the 
whole day, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the 
flood-tide came in, accompanied by a high wind from 
the south, which at about four o'clock shifted to the 
southwest, and blew almost a gale directly from the 
sea. Immense waves now broke over the place 
where we were, and large trees, some of them five 
or six feet through, which had been lodged on Xhe 



94. LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

point, drifted over our camp, so that the utmost vi 
gilance of every man could scarcely save the canoes 
from being crushed to pieces. We remained in the 
water, and were drenched with rain during the rest 
of the day, our only sustenance being some dried 
fish and the rain-water which we caught. Yet, 
though wet and cold, and some of them sick from 
using salt-water, the men were cheerful, and full of 
anxiety to see more of the ocean. The rain con- 
tinued all night, and the following morning, 

" November 10, the wind luUing, and the waves 
not being so high, we loaded our canoes and pro- 
ceeded. The mountains on the right are here high, 
covered with timber, chiefly pine, and descend with 
a bold and rocky shore to the water. We went 
through a deep niche and several inlets on the right, 
while on the opposite side was a large bay, above 
which the hills are close on the river. At the dis- 
tance of ten miles the Avind rose from the north- 
west, and the waves became so high that we were 
forced to return two miles for a place where we 
could unload with safety. Here we landed at the 
mouth of a small run, and, having placed our bag- 
gage on a pile of drifted logs, waited unUl low water. 
The river then appearing more calm, we started 
again ; but, after going a mile, found the waves too 
turbulent for our canoes, and were obliged to put to 
shore. Here we landed the baggage, and, having 
placed it on a rock above the reach of the tide, en- 
camped on some drift logs, which formed the only 
place where we could lie, the hills rising steep over 
our heads to the height of five hundred feet. All 
our baggage, as well as ourselves, was thoroughly 
wet with the rain, which did not cease during he 
day : it continued, indeed, violently through the 
night, in the course of which the tide reached the 
logs on which we lay, and set them afloat. 

" November 11. The wind was still high from the 
southwest, and drove the waves against the shore 



i 



UNPLEASANT SITUATION OF THE PARTY. 95 

with great fury : the rain, too, fell in torrents, and 
not only drenched us to the skin, but loosened the 
stones on the hill sides, so that they came rolling 
down upon us. In this comfortless condition we 
remained all day, wet and cold, and with nothing 
but dried fish to satisfy our hunger; the canoes at 
the mercy of the waves at one place, the baggage in 
another, and the men scattered on floating logs, or 
sheltering themselves in the crevices of the rocks 
and hill sides. A hunter was despatched in the hope 
of finding some game ; but the hills were so steep, 
and so covered with undergrowth and fallen timber, 
that he could not proceed, and was forced to return. 
About twelve o'clock we were visited by five Indians 
in a canoe. They came from the opposite side of 
the river, above where we were, and their language 
much resembled that of the Wahkiacums : they call- 
ed themselves Cathlamahs. In person they were 
small, ill made, and badly clothed ; though one of 
them had on a sailor's jacket and pantaloons, which, 
as he explained by signs, he had received from the 
whites below the point. We purchased from them 
thirteen red charr, a fish which we found very ex- 
cellent. After some time they went on board their 
boat, and crossed the river, which is here five miles 
wide, through a very heavy sea. 

" November 12. About three o'clock a tremendous 
gale of wind arose, accompanied with lightning, 
thunder, and hail : at six it lightened up for a short 
time, but a violent rain soon began, and lasted 
through the day. During the storm, one of our 
boats, secured by being sunk with great quantities 
of stone, got loose, but, drifting against a rock, was 
recovered without having received much injury. 
Our situation now became much more dangerous, 
for the waves were driven with fury against the 
rocks and trees, which t'lll now had afforded us ref- 
uge : we therefore took advantage of the low tide, 
and moved about half a mile round a poiiit to a small 



96 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

brook, which we had not observed before on account 
of the thick bushes and driftwood which concealed 
its mouth. Here we were more safe, but still cold 
and wet ; our clothes and bedding rotten as well as 
wet, our baggage at a distance, and the canoes, our 
only means of escape from this place, at the mercy 
of the waves. Still, we continued to enjoy good 
health, and even had the luxury of feasting on some 
salmon and three salmon trout which we caught in 
the brook. Three of the men attempted to go round 
a point in our small Indian canoe, but the high waves 
rendered her quite unmanageable, these boats re- 
quiring the seamanship of the natives to make them 
live in so rough a sea. 

" November 13. During the night we had short in- 
tervals of fair weather, but it began to rain in the 
morning, and continued through the day. In order 
to obtain a view of the country below, Captain Clarke 
followed the course of the brook, and with much 
fatigue, and after walking three miles, ascended the 
first spur of the mountains. The whole lower coun- 
try he found covered with almost impenetrable thick- 
ets of small pine, with which is mixed a species of 
plant resembling arrow-wood, twelve or fifteen feet 
high, with a thorny stem, almost interwoven with 
each other, and scattered among the fern and fallen 
timber: there is also a red berry, somewhat like the 
Solomon's seal, which is called by the natives solme, 
and used as an article of diet. This thick growth 
rendered travelling almost impossible, and it was 
rendered still more fatiguing by the abruptness of 
the mountain, which was so steep as to oblige him 
to draw himself up by means of the bushes. The 
timber on the hills is chiefly of a large, tall species 
of pine, many of the trees eight or ten feet in diam- 
eter at the stump, and rising sometimes more than 
one hundred feet in height. The hail which fell two 
nights before was still to be seen on the mountains: 
there was no game, and no marks of any, except some 



EXAMINATION OF THE BAY. 97 

old tracks of elk. The cloudy weather prevented 
his seehig to any distance, and he therefore returned 
to camp, and sent three men in the Indian canoe to 
try if they could double the point, and find some 
safer harbour for our boats. At every flood-tide the 
sea broke in great swells against the rocks, and drift- 
ed the trees against our establishment, so as to ren- 
der it very insecure. 

" November 14. It had rained without intermission 
during the night, and continued to through the day : 
the wind, too, was very high, and one of our canoes 
much injured by being driven against the rocks. 
Five Indians from below came to us in a canoe, and 
thrfie of them landed, and informed us that they had 
seen the men sent down yesterday. Fortunately, 
at this moment one of the men arrived, and told us 
that these very Indians had stolen his gig and bas- 
ket : we therefore ordered the two women, who re- 
mained in the canoe, to restore them ; but this they 
refused to do till we threatened to shoot them, when 
they gave back the articles, and we commanded them 
to leave us. They were of the Wahkiacum nation. 
The man now informed us that they had gone round 
the point as far as the high sea would suffer them in 
the canoe, and then landed ; that in the night he had 
separated from his companions, who had proceeded 
farther down ; and that, at no great distance from 
where we were, was a beautiful sand beach and a 
good harbour. Captain Lewis determined to exam- 
ine more minutely the lower part of the bay, and, 
embarking in one of the large canoes, was put on 
shore at the point, whence he proceeded by land 
with four men, and the canoe returned nearly filled 
with water. 

" November 15. It continued raining all night, but 
in the morning the weather became calm and fair. 
We began, therefore, to prepare for setting out; but 
before we were ready, a high wind sprang up from 
the southeast, and obliged us to remain. The sun 



98 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

shone until one o'clock, and we were thus enabled 
to dry our bedding and examine our taggage. The 
rain, which had continued for the last ten days with- 
out any interval of more than two hours, had com- 
pletely wet all our merchandise, spoiled some of our 
fish, destroyed the robes, and rotted nearly one half 
of our few remaining articles of clothing, particular- 
ly the leather dresses. About three o'clock the wind 
fell, and we instantly loaded the canoes, and left the 
miserable spot to which we had been confined the 
last six days. On turning the point we came to the 
sand beach, through which runs a small stream from 
the hills, at the mouth of which was an ancient viljj^ge 
of thirty-six houses, without any inhabitants at the 
time except fleas. Here we met Shannon, who had 
been sent back to us by Captain Lewis. The day 
Shannon left us in the canoe, he and Willard pro- 
ceeded on till they met a party of twenty Indians, 
who, not having heard of us, did not know who they 
were ; but they behaved with great civility — so great, 
indeed, and seemed so anxious that our men should 
accompany them towards the sea, that their suspi- 
cions were excited, and they declined going. The 
Indians, however, would not leave them ; and the 
men, becoming confirmed in their suspicions, and 
fearful, if they went into the woods to sleep, that 
they would be cut to pieces in the night, thought it 
best to remain with the Indians : they therefore made 
a fire, and after talking with them to a late hour, laid 
down with their rifles under their heads. When 
they awoke they found that the Indians had stolen 
and concealed their arms ; and having demanded 
them in vain. Shannon seized a club, and was about 
assaulting one of the Indians whom he suspected to 
be the thief, when another of them began to load his 
fowling-piece with the intention of shooting him. 
He therefore stopped, and explained to them by 
signs, that if they did not give up the guns, a large 
party would come down the river before the sun rose 



MORE COMFORTABLE ENCAMPMENT. 99 

to a certain height, and put every one of them to 
death. Fortunately, Captain Lewis and his party 
appeared at this very time, and the terrified Indians 
immediately brought the guns, and five of them came 
in with Shannon. To these men we declared that, 
if ever any of their nation stole anything from us, 
he should be instantly shot. They resided to the 
north of this place, and spoke a language different 
from that of the people higher up the river. It was 
now apparent that the sea was at all times too rough 
for us to proceed farther down the bay by water : 
we therefore landed, and, having chosen the best spot 
we could, made our camp of boards from the old vil- 
lage. We were now comfortably situated; and, be- 
ing visited by four Wahkiacums with wappatoo roots, 
were enabled to make an agreeable addition to our 
food. 

" November 16. The morning was clear and pleas- 
ant. We therefore put out all our baggage to dry, 
and sent several of the party to hunt. Our camp 
was in full view of tiie ocean, on the bay laid down 
by Vancouver, whicli we distinguished by the name 
of Haley's Bay, from a trader who visits the Indians 
here, and is a great favourite among them. The 
meridian altitude of this day gave 46° 19' 11.7" as 
our latitude. The a\ ind was strong from the south- 
west, and the waves very high, yet the Indians 
were passing up and down the bay in canoes, and 
several of them en;;amped near us. We smoked 
with them, but, after our recent experience of their 
thievish disposition, treated them with caution." * * * 
' The hunters brought in two deer, a crane, some 
e:eese and ducks, and several brant, three of which 
fvere white, except a part of the wing, which was 
ilack, and they were much larger than the gray brant. 

" November 17. A fair, cool morning, and easterly 
jvind. The tide rises at this place eight feet s.'X 
mches. 

" About one o'clock Captain Lewis returned, aftci 



100 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

having coasted down Haley's Bay to Cape Disap- 
pointment, and some distance to the north, along the 
seacoast. He was followed by several Chinnooks, 
among whom were the principal chief and his fam 
•ly. They made us a present of a boiled root very 
much like the common liquorice in taste and size, 
called culwhnmo ; and in return we gave them arti- 
cles of double its value. We now learned, howev- 
er, the danger of accepting anything from them, 
since nothing given in payment, even though ten 
times more valuable, would satisfy them. "We were 
chiefly occupied in hunting, and were able to pro- 
cure three deer, four brant, and two ducks ; and also 
saw some signs of elk. Captain Clarke now pre» 
pared for an excursion down the bay, and accord 
ingly started, 

" November 18, at daylight, accompanied by elev- 
en men. He proceeded along the beach one mile 
to a point of rocks about forty feet high, where the 
hills retired, leaving a wide beach, and a number of 
ponds covered with water-fowl, between which and 
the mountain was a narrow bottom covered with 
alder and small balsam trees. Seven miles from the 
rocks was the entrance of a creek, or rather drain 
from the ponds and hills, where was a cabin of 
Chinnooks. The cabin contained some children and 
four women. They were taken across the creek in 
a canoe by two squaws, to each of whom they gave 
a fish-hook, and then, coasting along the bay, passed 
at two miles the low bluff of a small hill, below 
which were the ruins of some old huts, and close to 
it the remains of a whale. The country was low, 
open, and marshy, interspersed with some high pine 
and with a thick undergrowth. Five miles from the 
creek they came to a stream, forty yards wide at 
low water, which they called Chinnook River. The 
hills up this river and towards the bay were not 
high, but very thickly covered with large pine of 
several species." 



CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT. 101 

Proceeding along the shore, they came to a deep 
bend, appearing to afford a good harbour, and here 
the natives told them that European vessels usually- 
anchored. About two miles farther on they reach- 
ed Cape Disappointment, " an elevated circular 
knob," says the Journal, " rising with a steep ascent 
one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty feet 
above the water, formed like the whole shore of the 
bay, as well as of the seacoast, and covered with 
thick timber on the inner side, but open and grassy 
on the exposure next the sea. From this cape a 
high point of land bears south 20° west, about twen- 
ty-five miles distant. In the range between these 
two eminences is the opposite point of the bay, a 
very low ground, which has been variously called 
Cape Rond by La Perouse, and Point Adams by 
Vancouver. The water, for a great distance off the 
mouth of the river, appears very shallow, and with- 
in the mouth, nearest to Point Adams, is a large 
sand-bar, almost covered at high tide." * * * 

" November 19. In the evening it began to rain, 
and continued till eleven o'clock. Two hunters 
were sent out in the morning to kill something for 
breakfast, and the rest of the party, after drying 
their blankets, soon followed. At three miles they 
overtook the hunters, and breakfasted on a small 
deer which they had been fortunate enough to kill. 
This, like all those that we saw on this coast, was 
much darker than our common deer. Their bodies, 
too, are deeper, their legs shorter, and their eyes 
larger. The branches of the horns are similar, but 
the upper part of the tail is black, from the root to 
the end, and they do not leap, but jump like a sheep 
frightened." * * * 

Continuing along five miles farther, they reached 
a point of high land, below which a sandy point ex- 
tended in a direction north 19° west, to another 
high point twenty miles distant. To this they gave 
the name of Point Lewis. They proceeded four 



102 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

miles farther along the sandy beach to a small pine- 
tree, on which Captain Clarke marked his name, 
with the year and day, and then set out to return to 
the camp, where they arrived the following day, 
having met a large number of Chinnooks coming 
from it. 

''November 21. The morning was cloudy, and 
from noon till night it rained. The wind, too, was 
high from the southeast, and the sea so rough that 
the water reached our camp. Most of the Chin- 
nooks returned home, but we were visited in the 
course of the day by people of different bands in the 
neighbourhood, among whom were the Chiltz, a na- 
tion residing on the seacoast near Point Lewis, and 
the Clatsops, who live immediately opposite, on the 
south side of the Columbia. A chief from the grand 
rapid also came to see us, and we gave him a med- 
al. To each of our visiters we made a present of a 
small piece of riband, and purchased some cranber- 
ries, and some articles of their manufacture, such 
as mats and household furniture, for all which we 
paid high prices." * * * 



CHAPTER V. 

Extravagant Passion of the Natives for blue Beads. — The Party 
in Search of a suitable Place for Winter-quarters.— Suffering 
from the Deluges of Rain. — Visits of the Indians. — Return of 
Captain Lewis, who reported that he had found a suitable 
Place for Wintering. — Captain Clarke goes with a Party to 
find a Place suitable for the Manufacture of Salt. — He is hos- 
pitably entertained by the Clatsops. — This Tribe addicted to 
Gambling. — Sickness of some of the Party, occasioned by the 
incessant Rains. — They form, notwithstanding, a permanent 
Encampment for their Winter-quarters. 

" November 22. It rained during the whole night, 
and about daylight a tremendous gale of wind rose 
from the S.S.E., and continued through the day with 



SKIN OF THE SEA-OTTER. 103 

great violence. The sea ran so high that the water 
came into our camp, which the rain prevents us from 
leaving. We purchased from the old squaw, for 
armbands and rings, a few wappatoo roots, on which 
we subsisted. They are nearly equal in flavour to 
the Irish potato, and afford a very good substitute 
for bread. The bad weathe' drove several Indians 
-.0 our camp, but they were still under the terrors 
,')f the threat which we made on first seeing them, 
ind behaved with the greatest decency. 

" November 23. The rain continued through the 
night, and the morning v/as calm and cloudy. The 
hunters were sent out, and killed three deer, four 
brant, and three ducks. Towards evening seven 
Clatsops came over in a canoe, with two skins of 
the sea-otter. To this article they attached an ex- 
travagant value ; and their demands for it were so 
high, that we were fearful it would too much reduce 
our small stock of merchandise, on which we had to 
depend for subsistence on our return, to venture on 
purchasing it. To ascertain, however, their ideas 
as to the value of different objects, we offered for 
one of these skins a watch, a handkerchief, an Amer- 
ican dollar, and a bunch of red beads ; but neither 
the curiouf) mechanism of the watch, nor even the 
red beads, could tempt the owner : he refused the 
offer, but asked for tiacomoshack, or chief beads, the 
most common sort of coarse blue-coloured beds, the 
article beyond all price in their estimation. Of these 
olue beads we had but few, and therefore reserved 
them for more necessitous circumstances." 

* * * " Having now examined the coast, it became 
necessary to decide on the spot for our winter-quar- 
ters. The people of the country subsisted chiefly 
on dried fish and roots ; but of these there did not 
seem to be a sufficient quantity for our support, even 
were we able to purchase them ; and the extrava- 
gant prices, as well as our small stock of merchan- 
dise, forbade us to depend on that resource. We 
II.—I 



104 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

had therefore to rely for subsistence on our arms, 
and to be guided in the choice of our residence by 
the abundance of game which any particular spot 
might offer. The Indians said that the deer were 
most numerous some distance above, on the river, but 
that the country on the opposite side of the bay was 
better supphed with elk, an animal much larger, and 
more easily killed than the deer, with a skin better 
fitted for clothing, and the meat of which is more 
mitritive during the winter, when they are both 
poor. The climate, too, was obviously much mild- 
er here than above the first range of mountains, for 
the Indians were thinly clad, and said they had lit- 
tle snow : indeed, since our arrival the weather had 
been very warm, and sometimes disagreeably so : 
and dressed, as we were, altogether in leather, the 
cold would be very unpleasant, if not injurious. 
The neighbourhood of the sea was moreover rec- 
ommended by the facility it afforded of supplying 
ourselves with salt, and the chance of meeting some 
of the trading vessels, who were expected in about 
three months, and from whom we might procure a 
fresh supply of trinkets for our route homeward. 
These considerations induced us to determine on 
visiting the opposite side of the bay, and if there 
was an appearance of much game, to estabhsh our- 
selves there for the winter." 

Having come to this determination, they proceed- 
ed, as soon as the weather would permit, to put it 
into execution. On the 26th they crossed the river, 
and landed three miles below a point, to which they 
gave the name of Point Samuel. They proceeded 
along the shore as far as they could this day, and 
the next morning " we came," says the journalist, 
" to a very remarkable knob of land, projecting about 
a mile and a half towards Shallow Bay, and about 
four miles round, while the neck of land which con- 
nects it to the main shore is not more than fifty 
yards wide. We went round this projection, which 



CONTINUED RAINS. 105 

we named Point William ; but the waves then be- 
came so high that we could not venture any farther, 
and therefore landed on a beautiful shore of pebbles 
of various colours, and encamped near an old Indian 
hut on the isthmus." * * * " it had rained hard du- 
ring the whole day, continued all the night, and in 
the morning, 

" November 28, began more violently, attended 
with a high wind from the southwest. It was now 
impossible to proceed on so rough a sea. We there- 
fore sent several men to hunt, and the rest of us 
remained during the day in a situation the most 
cheerless and uncomfortable. On this little neck of 
land we were exposed with a little miserable cover- 
ing, which did not deserve the name of a shelter, to 
the violence of the winds ; all our bedding and stores, 
as well as our bodies, being completely wet, our 
clothes rotting with constant exposure, and having 
no food except the dried fish obtained from the falls, 
to which we were again reduced. The hunters 
all returned hungry and drenched with rain, having 
seen neither deer nor elk, and the swan and brant 
were too shy to be approached. At noon the wind 
shifted to the northwest, and blew with such tre- 
mendous fury that many trees were thrown down 
near us."* * * 

The rain continued through the next day, but the 
weather cleared on the morning of the 30th, and the 
day was spent in drying their baggage, and in en- 
deavouring to procure some game. Captain Lewis, 
with five men, proceeded in the Indian canoe down 
to a small bay below, in the hope of finding elk. 
" Several of the men," proceeds the narrative, " com- 
plained of disorders in their bowels, which could be 
ascribed only to their diet of pounded fish mixed 
with salt-water ; and they are therefore directed to 
use for that purpose the fresh water above the point. 
The hunters had seen three elk, but could not obtain 
any of them. They, however, brought in three 



106 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

hawks, and a few black ducks, of a species common 
in the United States, hving in large flocks, and feed- 
ing on grass : they are distinguished by a sharp 
white beak, toes separated, and having no craw. 
Besides these wild-fowl, there were in this neigh- 
bourhood a large kind of buzzard with white wings, 
the gray and the bald eagle, the large red-tailed hawk, 
the blue magpie, and great numbers of ravens and 
crows. We observed, however, but few small birds ; 
the one which most attracted our attention was a 
small brown bird, which seemed to frequent logs and 
the roots of trees. Of other animals there was a 
great abundance. We saw great numbers of snakes, 
lizards, worms, and spiders, as well as small bugs, 
flies, and other insects of various kinds. The ve- 
getable productions were also numerous. The hills 
along the coast are high and steep, and the general 
covering is a growth of lofty pines of diff"erent spe- 
cies, some of which rise more than two hundred 
feet, and are from ten to twelve feet in diameter 
near the root. Besides these trees, we observed on 
the point a species of ash, the alder, the laurel, one 
species of the wild crab, and several kinds of un- 
derbrush, among which the rosebush was conspicu- 
ous." * * * 

It rained almost incessantly the three following 
days, and sickness began to prevail among the men 
to such an extent, from eating little else than pound- 
ed fish, that they redoubled their eff'orts to procure 
a supply of game. Fortunately, on the 2d of De- 
cember, one of the hunters succeeded in killing an 
elk, of which animal numerous traces were now seen. 
" This," says the journalist, " was the first elk we 
had killed on the west side of the Rocky Mountams ; 
and condemned, as we had been for so long a time, 
to dried fish, it proved a most nourishmg food. After 
eating the marrow of the shank bones, the squaw 
chopped them fine, and by boiling extracted a pmtof 
grease, superior to the tallow itself of the animal. 



-HEY FIND A SITE FOR WINTER QUARTERS. 107 

A canoe of eight Indians, who were carrying down 
wappatoo roots to trade with the Clatsops, stopped 
at our camp. We bought of them a few roots foi 
some small fish-hooks, and they left us ; when, ac- 
customed as we had been to the sight, we could not 
but view with admiration the wonderful dexterity 
with which they guided their canoes through such 
boisterous seas ; for though the waves were so high 
that, before they had gone half a mile, the canoe was 
at times out of sight, they proceeded with the ut- 
most calmness and security. Two of the hunters 
who set out yesterday had lost their way, and did 
not return till this evening : they had seen in their 
ramble numerous signs of elk, and had killed six, 
which they had skinned and left at a great distance. 

" December 4. A party was sent in the morning 
to carry the elk killed yesterday to a bay some dis- 
tance below, to which place, if the weather permit- 
ted, we had determined to remove our camp in the 
evening; but the rain, which had continued during the 
night, lasted all the day, and was accompanied by so 
high a wind from the southeast and south that we 
dared not risk our canoes on the water. It was 
high water at eleven o'clock, when the tide rose 
two feet higher than common. We passed the day 
around our fires ; and as we were so situated that the 
smoke would not immediately leave the camp, we 
were very much incommoded by it. No news had 
yet been received from Captain Lewis, and we be- 
gan to have much uneasiness for his safety." 

The next day, however. Captain Lewis returned to 
the encampment with the gratifying intelligence that 
he had discovered a river at no great distance below, 
where there were abundance of elk, and a favourable 
position for their winter-quarters. He had also killed 
six elk and five deer, and left two of his men to guard 
them. Continued bad weather prevented their re- 
moving until the 7th, when a favourable change en- 
bled them to proceed. " But the tide," says the 



.-I 



108 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

Journal, " was against us, and the wave^ very high, 
so that we were obhged to go on slowly and cautious- 
ly. We at length turned a point, and found ourselves 
in a deep bay :' here we landed for breakfast, and were 
joined by the party sent out three days ago to look 
for the six elk. They had lost their way for a day 
and a half, and when they at last reached the place, 
found the elk so much spoiled that they brought away 
nothing but the skins of four of them. After break- 
fast we coasted round the bay, which is about four 
miles across, and receives, besides several small 
creeks, two rivers, called by the Indians, the one Kil- 
howanakel, the other Netul. We named it Meriweth- 
er's Bay, from the Christian name of Captain Lew- 
is, who was, no doubt, the first white man who had 
surveyed it. The wind was high from the northeast, 
and in the middle of the day it rained for two hours, 
and then cleared off. On reaching the south side of 
the bay we ascended the Netul three miles, to the first 
point of high land on its western bank, and formed our 
camp in a thick grove of lofty pines, about two hun- 
dred yards from the water, and thirty feet above the 
level of the high tides." 

Having determined on this spot for their winter 
encampment. Captain Clarke set out the next day 
with five men in order to find a favourable place for 
making salt. After pursuing a southwesterly course 
for some time across a ridge covered with heavy pine 
timber, they passed some swampy ground, and then an 
open prairie, and crossed on a raft a considerable creek 
running towards Point Adams. " At this place," says 
the Journal, " they discovered a large herd of elk, and 
after pursuing them for three miles over swamps and 
small ponds, killed one of them. The agility with 
which the animals crossed the swamps and bogs 
seemed almost incredible. As our men followed their 
track, the ground for a whole acre would shake under 
their tread, and sometimes they sunk to their hips 
without finding bottom. Over the surface of these 



CLATSOP HOUSES. 109 

bogs is a species of moss, among which are great 
numbers of cranberries, and here and there are small, 
steep knobs of earth, thickly covered with pine and 
laurel. On one of these they halted for the night." 

It had rained all the night, and the next morning, 
sending three of his men to hunt the elk, Captain 
Clarke proceeded with the other two to accomplish 
the object he had in view. After a short time he 
came to a creek too deep to be forded, and, following 
it for some distance, found that he was between the 
creek he had crossed yesterday and another branch 
of it. He returned, therefore, to the point where he 
had crossed with the raft, and about a mile below it 
met with three Indians. 

" They were loaded," says the Journal, " with fresh 
salmon, which they had taken with a gig, and were 
now returning to their village on the seacoast, where 
they invited him to accompany them. He agreed, 
and they brought out a canoe hid on the banks of the 
creek. In this they passed over the branch which he 
had crossed on the raft, and then carried their ca- 
noe a quarter of a mile to the other fork, which they 
also crossed, and then continued down to the mouth 
of the stream. At this place it makes a great bend 
and is seventy yards wide : just above, to the south, 
was the village. 

" They crossed over, and found that it consisted 
of three houses, inhabited by twelve families of Clat- 
sops. They were situated on the south side of a 
hill, and sunk about four feet deep into the ground ; 
the walls, roof, and gable-ends being formed of split 
pine boards : the descent was through a small door, 
down a ladder. There were two fires in the middle 
of the roem, and the beds were disposed round the 
walls, two or three feet high, so as to leave room 
under them for their bags, baskets, and household 
articles. The floor itself was covered with mats. 
Captain Clarke was received with much hospitality. 



110 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

As soon as he entered clean mats were spread, and 
fish, berries, and roots were set before him on small 
neat platters made of rushes. After he had eaten, 
the men of the other houses came and smoked with 
him. They all appeared much cleanlier in their per- 
sons and diet than Indians generally are, and fre- 
quently washed their hands and faces, a ceremony 
by no means frequent elsewhere. While he was 
conversing with them, a flock of brant lighted on the 
water, and with a small rifle he shot one of them at 
a great distance. They immediately jumped in and 
brought it on shore, very much astonished at the shot, 
which contributed to mcrease their respect. 

" Towards evening it began to rain and blow very 
violently from the southwest, and Captain Clarke 
therefore determined to remain during the night. 
When they thought suflEicient time had elapsed for his 
appetite to return, an old woman presented him, in 
a bowl made of light-coloured horn, with a kind of 
sirup, pleasant to the taste, and made from a species 
of berry common in this country, about the size of 
a cherry, and called by the Indians shelwel : of these 
berries a bread was also prepared, which, being boil- 
ed with roots, formed a kind of soup, which was 
served in neat wooden trenchers ; and these, with 
some cockles, constituted his repast. The men of 
the village now collected and began to gamble. Their 
principal game was one in which one of the compa- 
ny was banker, and played against all the rest. He 
had a piece of bone about the size of a large bean, 
and, having agreed with some individual as to the 
value of the stake, passed the bone from one hand 
to the other with great dexterity, singing, at the 
same time, to divert the attention of his adversary ; 
and then, holding it in one of his hands, his antago- 
nist was challenged to guess in which of them it 
was, losing or winning as he pointed to the right or 
wrong hand. To this game they abandoned them- 
selves with great ardour; sometimes everything 



MEETING WITH THE CLATSOPS. Ill 

they possess is sacrificed to it, and this evening sev- 
eral of the Indians lost all the beads which they had 
wiUi them. It lasted for three hours, when Captain 
Clarke appearing disposed to sleep, the man who 
had been most attentive, and whose name was Cus- 
kalah, spread two new mats near the fire, and or- 
dering his wife to retire to her bed, the rest of the 
company dispersed at the same time. Captain 
Clarke then laid down, but the violence with which 
the fleas attacked him was far from leaving his rest 
undisturbed, and he rose early. 

" December 10. The morning was cloudy, with 
some rain. Captain Clarke walked to the seacoast, 
and observed the Indians walking up and down the 
creek, and examining the shore. He was at a loss to 
understand their object till one of them came to him, 
and explained that they were in learch of any fish 
which might have been thrown ui shore and left by 
the tide, adding in English, ' sturgeon is very good.' 
There is, indeed, every reason to believe that these 
Clatsops depend for their subsistence, during the 
winter, chiefly on the fish thus casually thrown on 
the coast. After amusing himself for some time on 
the beach, he returned towards the village, and shot 
on his way two brant. As he came near the vil- 
lage, one of the Indians asked him to shoot a duck 
about thirty steps distant : he did so, and, having 
accidentally shot off" its head, the bird was brought 
to the village, when all the Indians came round in 
astonishment. They examined the duck, the mus- 
ket, and the very small bullets, which were a hun- 
dred to the pound, and then exclaimed, Clouch mus' 
que, waket, commatax musquet : Good musket ; do not 
understand this kind of musket. They now placed 
before him their best roots, fish, and sirup, after 
which he attempted to purchase a sea-otter skin 
with some red beads whicli he happened to have 
about him ; but they declined trading, as they valued 
none except blue or white beads. He therefore 



112 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

bought nothing but a little berry-bread and a lew 
roots, in exchange for fish-hooks, and then set out to 
return by the same route he had come. He was ac- 
companied by Cuskalah and his brother as far as 
the third creek, and then proceeded to the camp 
through a heavy rain. The whole party had been 
occupied during his absence in cutting down trees to 
make huts, and in hunting." 

The next day, notwithstanding it rained without 
any intermission, and a considerable number of the 
party were ill, they kept busily at work in putting up 
their winter-cabins. 

" December 12. We continued to work in the 
rain at our houses. In the evening there arrived 
two canoes of Clatsops, among whom was a princi- 
pal chief called Comowool. We gave him a medal, 
and treated his companions with great attention ; 
after which we began to bargain for a small sea-ot- 
ter skin, some wappatoo roots, and another species 
of root called shanataque. We readily perceived 
that they were close dealers, stickled much for tri- 
fles, and never closed a bargain until they thought 
they had the advantage. The loappatoo is dear, as 
they themselves are obliged to give a high price foi 
it to the Indians above. Blue beads are the articles 
most in request ; the white occupy the next place in 
their estimation; but they do not value much those 
of any other colour. We succeeded at last in pur- 
chasing their whole cargo for a few fish-hooks and 
a small sack of Indian tobacco which we had re- 
ceived from the Shoshonees." 

From the 13th to the 21st, although it rained al- 
most incessantly, with occasional hail, sleet, and 
snow, they continued to labour dihgently on their 
houses, and were tolerably successful in procuring 
game. On the last-mentioned day they were visited 
by three Indians in a canoe, with mats, roots, and 
sacacommis berries. " These people proceeded with 
a dexterity and finesse in their bargains," says the 



INDIAN KEENNESS IN TRADE. 113 

Journal, " which, if they had not learned them from 
their foreign visiters, might show how nearly allied 
is the cunning of savages to the little arts of civil- 
ized traffic. They began by asking double or treble 
the value of what they had to sell, and lowered their 
demands in proportion to the greater or less degree 
of ardour or knowledge of the purchaser, who, with 
all his management, was not able to procure the ar- 
ticle for less than its real value, which they perfectly 
understood. Our chief medium of trade consisted 
of blue and white beads, files with which they sharp- 
en their tools, fish-hooks, and tobacco ; but of all 
these articles, blue beads and tobacco were the most 
esteemed." 

Owing to the constant and long-continued rains, 
sickness was increasing among the party, and much 
of their elk-meat was spoiled by the warmth of the 
weather. 

"December 23. It continued raining the whole 
day, with no variation, except occasional thunder 
and hail. Two canoes of Clatsops came to us with 
various articles for sale : we bought three mats and 
bags neatly made of flags and rushes, and also the 
skin of a panther seven feet long, including the tail. 
For all these we gave six small fish-hooks, a worn- 
out file, and some pounded fish, which had become 
so soft and mouldy by exposure that we could not 
use it : it was, however, highly prized by the In- 
dians. Although a very portable and convenient 
food, the mode of curing it seems to be known, or 
at least practised, only by the Indians near the 
Great Falls, and, coming from such a distance, has 
an additional value in the eyes of these people, who 
are anxious to possess something less precarious 
than their ordinary food. Among these Clatsops 
was a second chief, to whom we gave a medal, and 
sent some pounded fish to Cuskalah, who could not 
come to see us on account of sickness. The next 
day, however, 



114 LEWIS AisD Clarke's expedition. 

" December 24, he came in a canoe with his young 
brother and two squaws. Having treated Captain 
Clarke so kindly at his village, we were pleased to 
see him, and he gave us two mats and a parcel of 
roots. These w^e accepted, as it would have been 
offensive to decline them ; but afterward two files 
were demanded in return for the presents, and, not 
being able to spare those articles, we restored the 
mats and roots, at which Cuskalah was a little dis- 
pleased." * * * " Our whole stock of meat being now 
completely spoiled, our pounded fish became again 
our chief dependance. It had rained constantly all 
day, but we still continued working, and at last mo- 
ved into our huts. 

" December 25. We were awakened at daylight 
by a discharge of firearms, which was followed by a 
song from the men as a compliment to us on the re- 
turn of Christmas, which we have always been ac- 
customed to observe as a day of rejoicing. After 
breakfast we divided our remaining stock of tobac- 
co, which amounted to twelve carrots, into two 
parts, one of which we distributed among such of 
the party as made use of it, making a present of a 
handkerchief to the others. The remainder of the 
day was passed in good spirits, though there was 
nothing in our situation to excite much gayety. 
The rain confined us to the house, and our only lux- 
uries in honour of the season were some poor elk- 
meat, so much spoiled that we ate it through mere 
necessity, a few roots, and some mouldy pounded 
fish. 

" December 26. The rain continued, accompanied 
by thunder, and a high wind from the southeast. 
We vi^ere therefore still obliged to remain in our 
huts, and endeavoured to dry our wet articles before 
the fire. The fleas, which annoyed us near the port- 
age of the Great Falls, had so completely taken pos- 
session of our clothes, that we were obliged to have 
a regular search every day through our blankets, as 



MULTITUDES OF FLEAS. 115 

a necessary preliminary to sleeping at night. These 
insects, indeed, are so numerous that they are al- 
most a calamity to the Indians of this country. 
When they have once obtained the mastery of any 
house, it is impossible to expel them ; and the In- 
dians have frequently other houses, to which they 
resort when the fleas have rendered their longer 
residence in one intolerable : yet, in spite of these 
precautions, every Indian is constantly attended by 
multitudes of them, and no one came into our houses 
without leaving behind him swarms of these tor- 
menting creatures. 

" December 27. The rain did not cease last night, 
nor the greater part of the day. In the evening we 
were visited by Comowool, the chief, and four men 
of the Clatsop nation, who brought a very timely 
supply of roots and berries. Among these was one 
called culhomo, resembling liquorice in size and taste, 
which they roast like a potato ; there was also the 
shanataque, a root of which they are very fond. It 
is of a black colour, sweet to the taste, and is pre- 
pared for eating in a kiln, as the Indians up the Co- 
lumbia dry the pasheco. These, as well as the shel- 
wel berries, they value highly, but were perfectly 
satisfied with the return we made them, consisting 
of a small piece of sheepskin for the chief to wear 
round his head, a pair of earbobs for his son, a small 
piece of brass, and a little riband." * * * 

It rained, as usual, the following day. They sent 
five men with a large kettle to the seaside, which 
was about seven miles oif, for the purpose of manu- 
facturing salt. " On the 29th," proceeds the Journal, 
" we were employed all day in picketing the en- 
campment ; and in the evening a young Wahkiacum 
chief, with four men and two women, arrived with 
some dressed elkskin and wappatoo for sale. We 
purchased about a bushel and a half of those roots 
for some red beads, small pieces of brass wire, and 
old clieck. The chief, too, made us a present of 



116 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

half a bushel more, for which we gave him a medal, 
and a piece of riband to tie round his hat. These 
roots were extremely grateful, as our meat had be 
come spoiled, and we were desirous of purchasing 
the remainder ; but the chief would not dispose of 
any more, as he was on his way to trade witk the 
Clatsops. They remained with us, however, till the 
next day, 

"December 30, when they were joined by foui 
more of their countrymen from the Wahkiacum vil- 
lage. These last began by offering us some roots ; 
but, as we had learned that they always expect three 
or four times as much in return as the real value of 
the articles they give, and are not satisfied even with 
that, we declined such dangerous presents. Towards 
evening the hunters brought in four elk ; and, after 
so long a course of abstinence and miserable diet, 
we had a most sumptuous supper of elk's tongues 
and marrow. Besides this agreeable repast, the state 
of the weather had been quite exhilarating. It rain- 
ed during the night, but in the morning, though the 
high wind continued, we enjoyed the fairest and most 
pleasant weather we had had since our arrival ; the 
sun shining at intervals, with only three showers in 
the course of the day. By sunset we had comple- 
ted our fortification ; and we now announced to the 
Indians that every day at that hour the gates would 
be closed, when they must leave the place, and not 
enter it till sunrise. The Wahkiacums, who had 
remained with us, and who were very forward in 
their deportment, complied very reluctantly with 
this order; and, being excluded from our houses, 
formed a camp near us. 

"December 31. As if it were impossible to have 
twenty-four hours of pleasant weather, the sky last 
evening clouded, and the rain began and continued 
through the day. In the morning there came down 
two canoes, one from the Wahkiacum village, and 
the other contained three men and a squaw of the 



VISIT FROM THE WAHKIACUMS. 117 

Skilloot nation. They brought wappatoo and shana- 
taque roots, dried fish, mats made of flags and rush- 
es, dressed elkskins, and tobacco, for which, particu- 
larly the skins, they asked a very extravagant price. 
VVe purchased some wappatoo and a little tobac- 
co, very much like that we had seen among the 
Shoshouees, put up in small, neat bags made of rush- 
es. These we obtained in exchange for a few arti- 
cles, among which fish-hooks were the most esteem- 
ed. One of the Skilloots brought a gun which want- 
ed some repair, and, having put it in order, we re- 
ceived from him a present of about a peck of wap- 
patoo ; we then gave him a piece of sheepskin and 
blue cloth to cover the lock, and he very thankfully 
offered a farther present of roots. There is, in fact, 
an obvious superiority in these Skilloots over the 
Wahkiacums, who are intrusive, thievish, and im- 
pertinent. Our new regulations, however, and the 
appearance of the sentinel, have improved the beha-. 
viour of all our Indian visiters. They left the fort 
before sunset, even without being ordered. 

" Besides the fleas, we observed a number of oth- 
er insects in motion. Snakes were yet to be seen ; 
and snails without covers were common." * * * 

"January 1, 1806. We were awaked at an early 
hour by the discharge of a volley of small arms, to 
salute the new year. This was the only mode of 
commemorating the day which our situation permit- 
ted ; for, though we had reason to be gayer than we 
were at Christmas, our only dainties were boiled elk 
and wappatoo, enlivened by draughts of pure water. 
We were visited by a few Clatsops, who came by 
water, bringing roots and berries for sale. Among 
this nation we observed a man about twenty-five 
years old, of a much lighter complexion than the In- 
dians generally : his face was even freckled, and his 
hair long, and of a colour inclining to red. He was 
in habits and manners perfectly Indian ; but, though 
he did not speak a word of English, he seemed to 



118 LEWIS AND Clarke's exi'edition. 

understand more than the others of hi - party; and, 
as we could obtain no account of his origin, we con- 
cluded that one of his parents, at least, must have 
been white." * * * 

" January 2. The hunters brought in two elk, and 
we obtained from the traps another. This animal, 
as well as the beaver and the raccoon, are in plenty 
near the seacoast, and along the small creeks and 
rivers as high as the Grand Rapids, and in this coun 
try have an extremely good fur. 

" The birds most common were the large as well 
as the small or whistling swan, the sandhill crane, 
the large and small goose, cormorants, brown and 
white brant, mallard, and the canvass-back, with sev- 
eral other species of ducks. There were also a 
small crow, the blue-crested corvus, and the smaller 
corvus with a white breast, the little* brown wren, a 
large brown sparrow, the bald eagle, and the beauti- 
ful buzzard of the Columbia. All these birds con- 
tinued with us, though they were not in such num- 
bers as on our first arrival in this neighbourhood. 

" January 3. At eleven o'clock we were visited 
by our neighbour the tia, or chief Comowool, who 
was also called Coone, with six Clatsops. Besides 
roots and berries, they brought for sale three dogs 
and some fresh blubber. Having been so long ac- 
customed to the flesh of dogs, the greater part of us 
had acquired a fondness for it ; and our original 
aversion for it was overcome by reflecting that, 
while we subsisted on that food, we were fatter, 
stronger, and, in general, enjoyed better health than 
at any period since leaving the buffalo country east- 
ward of the mountains. The blubber, which is es- 
teemed by the Indians an excellent food, had been 
obtained, they told us, from their neighbours the 
Killamucks, a nation who live on the seacoast to the 
southeast, and near one of whose villages a whale 
had recently been thrown and foundered." * * * 

On the 5th, two of the men who had been sent to 



IMPORTANCE OF THE WHALE. US 

make salt returned to the encampment with about a 
gallon of that article, which proved to be of good 
quality, and furnished a very grateful addition to 
their food. They also brought some blubber of the 
whale, which had been obtained by the Indians from 
one of those fish that had floated ashore. " The ap- 
pearance of this whale," says the narrative, " seem- 
ed to be a matter of importance to all the neigh- 
bouring Indians ; and as we might be able to pro- 
cure some of it for ourselves, or at least purchase 
blubber from the Indians, a small parcel of merchan- 
dise was prepared, and a party of the men got m 
readiness to set out in the morning. As soon as 
this was made known, Chaboneau and his wife re- 
quested that they might be permitted to accompany 
ihe party. The poor woman stated very earnestly 
ihat she had travelled a long way with us to behold 
the great water, yet she had never been down to 
the coast ; and, now that this monstrous fish was 
also to be seen, it seemed hard that she should not 
be permitted to see either the ocean or the whale. 
So reasonable a request could not be denied ; they 
were therefore suffered to go with Captain Clarke. 

" January 6. After an early breakfast, he set out 
with twelve men in two canoes. He proceeded 
down the Netul into Meriwether Bay, mtendmg to 
go to the Clatsop town, and there procure a guide 
through the creeks, which there was reason to be- 
lieve communicated not only with the bay, but with 
H small river running towards the sea, near which 
our salt-makers were encamped." A high wind 
springing up, however, from the northwest, and obli 
ging them to put into a small creek, he determined 
10 attempt the passage without any guide. After 
proceeding up this creek three miles, they left their 
canoes, and followed an Indian path for some dis- 
tance, when, arriving at the creek they had formerly 
passed on a raft, they crossed it, and, having killed 
an elk for their supper, encamped for the night. 
II.— K 



120 LE^VIS AND CLJ^RKE'S EXPEDITION. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Captain Clarke continues his Route in Quest of the Whale.— 
Passes Clatsop River. — Perilous Nature of the Journey.— 
Grandeur of the Scenery. — Indian Mode of extracting Whab 
oil. — The Life of one of Captain Clarke's Party preserved hy 
the Kindness of an Indian Woman. — Short Account of the 
Chinnooks, Clatsops, Killamucks, and Lucktons. — Manner oi 
Sepulture among the Chinnooks, Clatsops, &c. — Their Weap- 
ons of War and Hunting. — Their Mode of building Houses.— 
Their Manufactures and Cookery. — Their Canoes. — Greet 
Dexterity in managing them. 

They started again early the next morning, ana 
after encountering some difficulties, came to the 
seashore, which they followed for five miles, when 
they reached the encampment of their salt-makers. 
" Here," proceeds the narrative, " we persuaded a 
young Indian, by the present of a file and a promise 
of some other articles, to guide us to the spot where 
the whale lay. He led us for two and a half miles 
over round slippery stones at the foot of a high hill 
projecting into the sea, and then suddenly stopping, 
and uttering the word peshack, or bad, explained by 
signs that we could no longer follow the coast, but 
must cross the mountain. This promised to be a 
most laborious undertaking, for the side was nearly 
perpendicular, and the top lost in clouds. He, how- 
ever, followed an Indian path, which wound about 
as much as possible, but still the ascent was so 
steep that at one place we drew ourselves up for 
about a hundred feet by means of bushes and roots. 
At length, after two hours' labour, we reached the 
top of the mountain, whence we looked down with 
astonishment on the prodigious height of ten oi 
twelve hundred feet which we had ascendc*!. Im- 
mediately below us, in the face of this pjecipice, 



MAGNIFICENT PROSPECT. 121 

was a stratum of white earth, used, as our guide in- 
formed us, an a paint by the neighbouring Indians. 
It obvrously contains argil, and resembles the earth 
of which the French porcelain is made ; but wheth- 
er it contams either silex or magnesia, or, if so, in 
what proportions, we could not determine. We 
were here met by fourteen Indians with oil and 
blubber, the spoils of the whale, which they were 
carrying in very heavy loads over this rough mount- 
ain. On leaving them, we proceeded over a bad 
road till night, when we encamped on a small run : 
we were all much fatigued, but the weather was 
pleasant, and, for the first time since our arrival 
here, an entire day had heen passed without rain. 

"January 8. We set out early, and proceeded 
along the top of the mountain, the highest point of 
which is an open spot facing the ocean. It is situa- 
ted about thirty miles southeast of Cape Disappoint- 
ment, and projects nearly two and a half miles into 
the soa. Here one of the most delightful views in 
nature presented itself. Immediately in front was 
the ocean, breaking with fury on the coast, from the 
rocks of Cape Disappointment as far as the eye 
could discern to the northwest, and against the high 
lands and irregular piles of rock which diversify the 
shore to the southeast. To this boisterous scene, 
the Columbia, with its tributary waters, widening 
into bays as it approaches the ocean, and studded on 
both sides with the Chinnook and Clatsop villages, 
formed a charming contrast ; while immediately be- 
neath our feet were stretched rich prairies, enliven- 
ed by three beautiful streams, which conducted the 
eye to small lakes at the foot of the hills. We 
stopped to enjoy the romantic prospect from this 
place, which we distinguished by the name of 
Clarke's Point of View, and then followed our guide 
down the mountain. The descent was steep and 
dangerous : in many places the hillsides, which are 
formed principally of yellow clay, had been washed 



122 LEWIS ANt CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

by the late rains, and were now slipping into the 
sea in large masses of from fifty to a hundred 
acres. In other parts the path crossed the rugged 
perpendicular rocks which overhang the sea, into 
which a single false step would have precipitated us. 
This mountain is covered with a very thick growth 
of timber, chiefly pine and fir; some of which, near 
Clarke's Point of View, perfectly sound and solid, 
rose to the height of two hundred and ten feet, and 
were from eight to twelve in diameter. Intermixed 
is the white cedar, or arhor vitcB, and a small quanti- 
ty of black alder, two or three feet thick, and sixty 
or seventy in height. At length we reached a single 
house, the remains of an old Killamuck village, sit- 
uated among some rocks, in a bay immediately on 
the coast. We then continued for two miles along 
the sand beach, and after crossing a creek eighty 
yards in width, near which were five cabins, reached 
the place where the waves had thrown the whale on 
shore. The animal had been landed between two 
Killamuck villages ; and such had been the industry 
of the natives, that there now remained nothing 
more than the skeleton, which we found to be one 
hundred and five feet in length. Captain Clarke 
then returned to the village of five huts on the creek, 
to which he gave the name of Ecola, or "Whale 
Creek. The Indians were all busied in boiling the 
blubber in a large, square trough of wood, by means 
of heated stones, and preserving the oil thus extract- 
ed in bladders and the entrails of the whale. The 
refuse of the blubber, which still contained a portion 
of oil, was hung up in large flitches, and when want- 
ed for use is warmed on a wooden spit before the 
fire, and eaten either alone or dipped in oil, or with 
the roots of the rush and shanataque. The Killa- 
mucks, though they had great quantities of it, parted 
with it reluctantly, and at such high prices that our 
whole stock of merchandise was exhausted in the 
purchase of about three hundred pounds of blubber 



THE KILLAMUCKS. 123 

and a few gallons of oil. With this we set out to 
return; and, having crossed Ecola Creek, encamped 
on its bank, where there was abundance of fine tim- 
ber. We were soon joined by the men of the vil- 
lage, with whom we smoked, and who gave us all 
the information they possessed relative to their 
country. 

" These Killamucks are part of a much larger na- 
tion of the same name, and reside chiefly in four 
villages, each at the entrance of a different creek, 
and all falling into a bay on the southwest coast ; 
that at which we now were being the most northern, 
and at the distance of about forty-five miles south- 
east of Point Adams. The rest of the nation are 
scattered along the coast, and on the banks of a riv- 
er, which, as it was marked in their delineations, we 
called Killamuck's River, emptying itself in the same 
direction. During the salmon season they catch 
great quantities of that fish in the small creeks, and 
when these fail, their chief resource is the sturgeon 
and other fish stranded along the coast. The elk 
are very numerous in the mountains, but they cannot 
procure many of them with their arrows ; and their 
principal communication with strangers is by means 
of the Killamuck River, up which they pass to the 
Shocatilcum, or Columbia, to trade for wappatoo 
roots^ In their dress, appearance, and, indeed, eve- 
rything else, they differ very little from the Chin- 
nooks, Clatsops, and other nations in the neighbour- 
hood : the chief difference we have observed is in 
their manner of burying the dead, the bodies being 
deposited in an oblong box of plank, which is placed 
in an open canoe, lying on the ground, with a pad- 
dle and other small articles of the deceased by his 
side. 

" While smoking with the Indians, Captain Clarke 
was startled about ten o'clock by a loud, shrill cry 
from the opposite village, on hearing which all the 
natives immediately started up to cross the creek. 



124 LEWIS AND CLARKE*S EXPEDITION. 

and the guide informed him that some one had been 
killed. On examination, one of our men was dis- 
covered to be absent, and a guard was despatched, 
who met him crossing the creek in great haste. An 
Indian belonging to another band, and who happen- 
ed to be with the Killamucks that evening, had treat- 
ed him with much kindness, and walked arm in arm 
with him to a tent, where our man found a Chin- 
nook squaw who was an old acquaintance. From 
the conversation and manner of the stranger, this 
woman discovered that his object was to murdei 
the white man for the sake of the few articles on 
his person ; and when he rose and pressed our man 
to go to another tent, where they would find some- 
thing better to eat, she held M'Neal by the blanket. 
Not knowing her object, he freed himself from her, 
and was going on with his pretended friend, when 
she ran out and gave a shriek which brought the men 
of the village over, and the stranger ran off before 
M'Neal knew what had occasioned the alarm. 

" January 9. The morning was fine, the wind from 
the northeast. Having divided our stock of blubber, 
we began at sunrise to retrace our steps, in order to 
reach Fort Clatsop, at the distance of thirty-five 
miles. We met several parties of Indians on their 
way to trade for blubber and oil with the Killamucks 
(our route lay across the same mountains which 
we had already passed) : we also overtook a party 
returning from the village, and could not but regard 
with astonishment the heavy loads which the women 
carry along these fatiguing and dangerous paths. 
As one of them was descending a steep part of 
the mountain, her load slipped from her back, and 
she stood holding it by a strap with one hand, and 
with the other supporting herself by a bush : Cap- 
tain Clarke being near her, undertook to replace the 
load, and found it almost as much as he could lift, 
and above one hundred pounds in weight. Loaded 
as they were, they kept pace with us till we reached 



THE CATHLAMAIIS. 125 

he salt-makers' tents, where we passed the night, 
.vhile they continued their route." 

The party the next day proceeded to the point 
.vhere they had left their canoes, and reached the 
encampment late in the evening. " This morning," 
proceeds the Journal (January 10), " there came to 
the fort twelve Indians in a large canoe : they were 
of the Cathlamah nation, our nearest neighbours 
above, on the south side of the river. Their tia or 
chief, whose name was Shahawacap, having been 
absent on a hunting excursion as we passed his vil- 
la-ffe, had never yet seen us, and we therefore show- 
ecfhim all the honours which our reduced finances 
would permit. We invested him with a small med- 
al, and received a present of Indian tobacco and a 
basket of wappatoo in return, for which we gave him 
a small piece of our tobacco and thread for a fishing- 
net. They had brought dried salmon, wappatoo, 
dogs, and mats made of rushes and flags ; but we 
purchased only some dogs and wappatoo. These 
Cathlamahs speak the same language as the Chin- 
nooks and Clatsops, whom they also resemble in 
dress and manners." 

Their Indian canoe drifted away during the night, 
and, although they made diligent search for her, the 
men sent out were unable to find her. 

"January 12. Our meat," continues the Journal, 
" was now becoming scarce, and we therefore deter- 
mined to jerk it, and issue it in small quantities, in- 
stead of dividing it among the four messes, and leav- 
ing to each the care of its own provisions : a plan 
by which much was lost, in consequence of the im- 
providence of the men. Two hunters had been de- 
spatched in the morning, and one of them, Drewyer, 
had before evening killed seven elk. We should, in- 
deed, have been scarcely able to subsist but for the 
exertions of this excellent hunter. The game was 
scarce, and nothing was now to be seen except elk, 
which almost all the men found it very difficult to 



126 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

shoot ; but Drewyer, who was the son of a Cana- 
dian Frenchman and an Indian woman, had passed 
his hfe in the woods, and united, in a wonderful de- 
gree, the dexterous aim of the frontier huntsman 
with the intuitive sagacity of the Indian in pursuing 
the faintest tracks through the forest. All our men, 
however, had become so expert with the rifle, that 
we were never under serious apprehensions as t3 
food, since, whenever there was game of any kind, 
we were almost certain of procuring it." * * * 

" .Tanuary 13. From all that we had seen and learn- 
ed of the Chinnooks, we were induced to estimate 
the nation at about twenty-eight houses and four 
hundred souls. They reside chiefly along the banks 
of a river, to which we gave the same name ; and 
which, running parallel to the seacoast, waters a 
low country with many stagnant ponds, and then 
empties itself into Haley's Bay. The wild- fowl of 
these ponds, and the elk and deer of the neighbour- 
hood, furnish them with occasional luxuries ; but 
their chief subsistence is derived from the salmon 
and other fish which are caught in the small streams 
by means of nets and gigs, or thrown on shore by 
the violence of the tide. To these are added some 
roots, such as the wild liquorice, which is the most 
common, the shanataque, and the wappatoo, brought 
down the river by the traders. 

•' The men are low in stature, rather ugly, and ill 
made ; their legs being small and crooked, their feet 
large, and their heads, like those of the women, flat 
tened in a most disgusting manner. These deform- 
ities are in part concealed by robes made of sea-ot- 
ter, deer, elk, beaver or fox skins. They also em- 
ploy in their dress robes of the skin of a cat pecu- 
liar to this country, and of another animal of the 
same size, which is light and durable, and sold at a 
high price by the Indians who bring it from above. 
In addition to these are worn blankets, wrappers of 
red, blue, or spotted cloth, and some old sailors' 



THE CHINNOOKS. 127 

clothes, which are very highly prized. The greater 
part of the men have guns, with powder and ball. 

" The women have in general handsome faces, but 
are low and disproportioned, with small feet and 
large legs, occasioned, probably, by strands of beads, 
or various strings, drawn so tight above the ankles 
as to prevent the circulation of the blood. Their 
dress, like that of the Wahkiacums, consists of a 
short robe and a tissue of cedar bark. Their hair 
hangs loosely down the shoulders and back ; and 
their ears, neck, and wrists are ornamented with 
blue beads. Another decoration, which is very high- 
ly prized, consists of figures made by puncturing the 
arms or legs ; and on the arms of one of the squavvs 
we observed the name of J. Bowman, executed in 
the same way. In language, habits, and in almost 
every other particular, they resemble the Clatsops, 
Cathlamahs, and, indeed, all the people near the 
mouth of the Columbia, though they appeared to be 
inferior to their neighbours in honesty as well as 
spirit. No ill treatment or indignity on our part 
seemed to excite any feeling except fear : nor, al- 
though better provided than their neighbours with 
arms, have they enterprise enough either to use them 
advantageously against the animals of the forest, or 
offensively against the tribes near them, who owe 
their safety more to the timidity than the forbearance 
of the Chinnooks. We had heard instances of pil- 
fering while we were among them, and therefore 
gave a general order excluding them from our en- 
campment, so that whenever an Indian wished to 
visit us, he began by calling out ' No Chinnook.' It 
is not improbable that this first impression may have 
left a prejudice against them, since, when we were 
among the Clatsops and other tribes at the mouth of 
the Columbia, they had less opportunity of stealing, if 
they were so disposed." 

The next day they were so fortunate as to recov- 
er their missing canoe, and took precautions to pre- 
II.— L 



128 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 

vent any future accident of the kind. The Journal 
proceeds to give a more particular account of the 
Clatsops and Killamucks, from such knowledge as 
could be obtained in relation to them, either from 
the Indians or by personal observation. 

* * * " The first nation to the south are the Clat- 
sops, who reside on the southern side of the bay 
and along the seacoast, on both sides of Point Ad- 
ams. They were represented as the remains of a 
much larger nation ; but about four years ago, a dis- 
order, to which till then they were strangers, but 
which seems, from their description, to have been 
the smallpox, destroyed four chiefs and several 
hundred of the nation. These were deposited in 
canoes, a few miles below us in the bay, and the 
survivers do not number more than fourteen houses 
and about two hundred souls. Next to them, along 
the southeast coast, is a much larger nation, the 
Killamucks, who number fifty houses and a thou- 
sand souls. Their first establishment consists of the 
four huts at the mouth of Ecola Creek, thirty-five 
miles from Point Adams, and two miles below are a 
few more huts ; but the principal town is situated 
twenty miles lower, at the entrance of a creek called 
Nielee, into the bay which we designated by the 
name of Killamuck Bay. Into the same bay emp- 
ties a second creek, five miles farther, where is a 
Killamuck village called Kilherhurst ; at two miles 
a third creek, and a town called Kilherner ; and at 
the same distance a town called Chishuck, at the 
mouth of Killamuck River. Towerquotton and 
Chucklin are the names of two other towns, situa- 
ted on creeks which empty into the bottom of the 
bay, the last of which is seventy miles from Point 
Adams. The Killamuck River is about one hundred 
yards wide, and very rapid, but, having no perpen- 
dicular fall, is the great avenue for trade. There 
are two small villages of Killamucks settled above 
its mouth, and the whole trading part of the tribe 



SINGULAR MODE OF DEPOSITING THE DEAD. 129 

ascend it, till by a short portage they carry their 
canoes over to the Columbian Valley, and descend 
the Multnomah to Wappatoo Island. Here they 
purchase roots, which they carry down the Chocka- 
lilum or Columbia ; and, after trafficking with the 
tribes on its banks for the various articles which 
they require, either return up the Columbia, or cross 
over through the country of the Clatsops. This 
trade, however, is obviously little more than a loose 
and irregular barter, on a very small scale ; for the 
materials for commerce are so extremely scanty and 
precarious, that the stranding of a whale is an im- 
portant commercial incident, which interests all the 
adjoining country. The Killamucks have little that 
is pecuhar, either in character or manners, and re- 
semble in almost every particular the Clatsops and 
Chinnooks."* * * * ^ 

" The Chinnooks, Clatsops, and most of the ad- 
joining nations deposite their dead in canoes. For 
this purpose a scaffold is erected, by fixing perpen- 
dicularly in the ground four long pieces of split tim- 
ber. These are placed two by two, just wide enough 
apart to admit the canoe, and sufficiently long to 
support its two extremities. The boards are con- 
nected by a bar of wood run through them at the 
height of six feet, on which is placed a small canoe, 
containing the body of the deceased carefully wrap- 
ped in a robe of dressed skins, with a paddle and 
other articles that had belonged to him by his side. 
Over this canoe is placed one of a larger size, re- 
versed, with its gunwale resting on the crossbars, 
so as to cover the body completely. One or more 
large mats of rushes or flags are then rolled round 
both the canoes, and the whole is secured by cords 
usually made of the bark of the white cedar. On 
these crossbars are hung different articles of cloth- 

♦ Farther details in regard to the names, residence, numbers, 
fee of the different tribes along the coast, on both sides of the 
Columbia, will be found in the Append a. 



130 LEWIS AJND Clarke's expedition. 

'ng, or culinary utensils. The method practised by 
?Jie Killamucks differs somewhat from this, the 
body being deposited in an oblong box of plank, 
which, with the paddle and other articles, is placed 
m a canoe resting on the ground. With the reli- 
gious opinions of these people we became but little 
acquainted, since we understood their language too 
imperfectly to converse on a subject so abstruse*, 
but it is obvious, from the different articles which 
they place by their dead, that they believe in a fu- 
ture state of existence." 

* * * " The implements used in hunting by the 
Clatsops, Chinnooks, and other neighbouring na- 
tions, are the gun, bow and arrow, deadfall, pits, 
snares, and spears or gigs. The guns are generally 
old American or British muskets, repaired for this 
trade ; and, although there are some good pieces 
among them, they are constantly out of order, as 
the Indians have not been sufficiently accustomed to 
arms to understand the management of them. Their 
powder is kept in the small japanned tin flasks in 
which the traders sell it ; and when ball or shot fails 
them, they make use of gravel, or pieces of metal 
from their pots, without being sensible of the injury 
done to their guns. These arms are reserved for 
hunting elk, and the few deer and bear in the neigh- 
bourhood ; but, as they have no rifles, they are not 
very successful hunters. The most common weap- 
on is the bow and arrow, with which every man is 
provided, even though he may carry a gun, and 
which is used in every kind of hunting. The bow 
is extremely neat, and, being very thin and flat, pos- 
sesses great elasticity. It is made of the heart of 
the white cedar, about two feet and a half in length, 
and two inches wide in the centre, whence it tapers 
to the width of half an inch at the extremities ; and 
the back is covered with the sinews of elk, fastened 
on by means of a glue made from the sturgeon. The 
string is formed of the same sinews. The arrow 



WEAPONS OF CLATSOPS AND CIIINNOOKS. 131 

generally consists of two parts : the first is about 
twenty inches long, and formed of light white pine, 
with the feather at one end, and at the other a cir- 
cular hole, which receives the second part, formed 
of some harder wood, about five inches long, and 
secured in its place by means of sinews. The barb 
is either of stone, or of iron or copper ; and when of 
the latter, the angle is more obtuse than any we 
have seen. If, as sometimes happens, the arrow is 
formed of a single piece, the whole is of a firmer 
and heavier wood ; but the kind just described is 
preferred, since much of the game consisting of wild- 
fowl on the ponds, it is desirable that their arrows 
should be of a material to float when they fall into 
the water. These arrows are kept in a quiver made 
of elk or young bear skin, opening, not at the ends, 
like the common quivers, but at the sides, which for 
those who hunt in canoes is much more convenient. 
These weapons are not very powerful, however, for 
many of the elk we killed had been wounded with 
them ; and although the barb, with the small end of 
the arrow, remained, the flesh had closed, and the 
animal suffered no permanent injury. The deadfalls 
and snares are used in taking the wolf, raccoon, and 
fox, of which there are, however, but few in this 
country. The spear or gig employed in the pursuit 
of the sea-otter (which they call spuck), the common 
otter, and beaver, consists of two points of barbs, 
and is like those already described as common 
among the Indians on the upper part of the Colum 
bia. The pits are chiefly for the elk, and are there 
fore usually large cubes, twelve or fourteen feet in 
depth, and are made by the side of a fallen tree lying 
across some path frequented by the animal. They 
are covered with slender boughs and moss, and the 
elk either sinks into the pit as he approaches the 
tree, or in leaping over the tree falls into it on the 
other side." * * * 
" In fishing, the CJ^tsops, Chinnooks, and other 



132 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

nations near this place employ the common straight 
net, the scoop or dip net with a long handle, the 
gig, and the hook and line. The first is of different 
lengths and depths, and is employed in taking salm- 
on, charr, and trout in the deep inlets among the 
marshy grounds and at the mouths of deep creeks. 
The scoop-net is used^or small fish in the spring 
and summer season ; and in both kinds the net is 
formed of silk-grass, or of the bark of white cedar. 
The gig is employed at all seasons, and for all 
kinds of fish they can take with it ; so, too, is the 
hook and line, the latter being made of the same 
material as the net, and their hooks being generally 
brought by the traders ; though, before the whites 
came, they made their hooks out of two small pie- 
ces of bone, resembling the European hook, but with 
a much more acute angle where the two pieces 
were joined." * * * 

" The houses in this neighbourhood are all large 
wooden buildings, varying in length from twenty to 
sixty feet, and from fourteen to twenty in width. 
They are constructed in the following manner : two 
or more posts of split timber, according to the num- 
ber of partitions, are sunk in the ground, above 
which they rise to the height of from fourteen to 
eighteen feet. They are hollowed at the top so as 
to receive the ends of a round beam or pole stretch- 
ing from one to the other, and forming the upper 
point of the roof for the whole extent of the build- 
ing. On each side of this range is placed another, 
which forms the eaves of the house, and is about 
five feet high ; but as the building is often sunk to 
the depth of four or five feet, the eaves come very 
near the surface of the earth. Smaller pieces of 
timber are now extended by pairs, in the form of 
rafters, from the lower to the upper beam, where 
they are attached at both ends with cords of cedar 
bark. On these rafters two or three ranges of small 
poles are placed horizontallv, and secured in the 



DESCRIPTION OF THE CLATSOP HOUSES. 133 

same way with strings of cedar bark. The sides 
are now formed with a range of wide boards, sunk 
a small distance into the ground, with the upper 
ends projecting above the poles at the eaves, to 
which they are secured by a beam running along out- 
side parallel with the eave-poles, and tied by cords 
of cedar bark passing through holes made in the 
boards at certain distances. The gable ends and 
partitions are formed in the same way, being fasten- 
ed by beams on the outside parallel to the rafters. 
The roof is then covered with a double range of 
thin boards, except an aperture of two or three feet 
in the centre for the smoke to pass through. The 
entrance is by a small hole cut out of the boards, 
and just large enough to admit the body. Only the 
very largest houses are divided by partitions ; for, 
though three or more families reside in the same 
room, there is quite space enough for all of them. 
In the centre of each room is a space six or eight 
feet square, sunk to the depth of twelve inches be- 
low the rest of the floor, and enclosed by four pie- 
ces of square timber. Here they make the fire, for 
which pine bark is generally preferred. Around 
this fireplace mats are spread, which serve as seats 
during the day, and very frequently as beds at night ; 
there is, however, a more permanent bed, made by 
fixing in two, or sometimes three sides of the room, 
posts reaching from the roof down to the ground, 
and at the distance of four feet from the wall. From 
these posts to the wall itself one or two ranges of 
boards are placed, so as to form shelves, on which 
they either sleep, or stow their various articles of 
merchandise. The uncured fish is hung in the smoke 
of their fires, as is also the flesh of the elk, when 
they are fortunate enough to procure any, which is 
but rarely the case." 

* * * "The hats of the Clatsops are made of ce- 
dar and bear-grass, interwoven together in the form 
of a European hat, with a small brim of about two 



134 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

inches, and a high crown widening upward. They 
are light, ornamented with various colours and fig- 
ures, and, being nearly water-proof, are much more 
durable than either chip or straw hats. These hats 
form a small article of traffic with the whites, and 
the manufacture is one of the best specimens of In- 
dian industry. They are, however, very dexterous 
in making a variety of domestic utensils, among 
which are bowls, spoons, skewers, spits, and bas- 
kets. The bowl or trough is of different shapes, 
round, semicircular, in the form of a canoe, or cu- 
bic, and generally dug out of a single piece of wood, 
the larger vessels having holes in the sides by way 
of handle, and all being executed with great neat- 
ness. In these vessels they boil their food by throw- 
ing hot stones into the water, and extract oil from 
different animals in the same way. Spoons are not 
very abundant, nor is there anything remarkable in 
their shape, except that they are large, with the 
bowl broad. Meat is roasted on one end of a sharp 
skewer, placed erect before the fire, with the other 
fixed in the ground. The spit for fish is split at the 
top into two parts, between which the fish is placed, 
cut open, and its sides extended by means of small 
splinters. The usual plate is a small mat of rushes 
or flags, on which everything is served. The in- 
strument with which they dig up roots is a strong 
stick, about three feet and a half long, sharpened 
and a little curved at the lower end, while the upper 
is inserted into a handle, standing transversely, and 
made of part of an elk or buck's horn. But the 
most curious workmanship is that of.the basket. It 
is formed of cedar bark and bear-grass, so closely 
interwoven that it is water-tight, without the aid ei- 
ther of gum or resin. The form is generally conic, 
or, rather, that of the segment of a cone, of which 
the smaller end is the bottom of the basket ; and 
being made of all sizes, from that of the smallest 
cup to the capacity of five or six gallons, they an- 



INDIAN CANOES. 135 

.jwer the double purpose of a covering for the head 
and to contain water. Some of them are highly or- 
namented with strands of bear-grass, woven into 
figures of various colours, which require great la- 
bour ; yet they are made very expeditiously, and 
sold for a trifle. It is for the construction of these 
baskets that the bear-grass forms an article of con- 
siderable traffic. It grows only near the snowy re- 
gion of the high mountains, and the blade, which is 
two feet long, and about three eighths of an inch 
wide, is smooth, strong, and pliant ; the young blades 
particularly, from their not being exposed to the sun 
and air, have an appearance of great neatness, and 
are generally preferred. Other baskets, and also 
bags, not water-proof, are made of cedar bark, silk- 
grass, rushes, flags, and common coarse sedge, for 
the use of families. In the manufactures, as well 
as ill the ordinary work of the house, the instrument 
most in use is a knife, or rather dagger. The han- 
dle of it is small, and has a strong loop of twine for 
the thumb, to prevent its being wrested from the 
hand. At each end is a blade, double edged and 
pointed ; the longer from nine to ten inches, the 
shorter from four to five. This knife is carried 
about habitually in the hand, sometimes exposed, 
but mostly under the robe." 

« # * u 'pi-jg industry of the Indians is not con- 
fined to household articles : the greatest eff'ort of 
their skill is in the construction of their canoes. In 
a country, indeed, where so much of the intercourse 
between the different tribes is carried on by water, 
their ingenuity would naturally be directed to the 
improvement of their canoes, which would gradual- 
ly advance from a mere safe conveyance to some- 
thing tasteful and elegant. We have, accordingly, 
seen canoes of various forms, from the simple boats 
near the mountains, to the highly-decorated ones, 
because more used, near the mouth of the Colum- 
bia. Below the Grand Cataract there are four kinds 



J 36 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

of canoes. The first and smallest is about fifteen 
feet long, and calculated for one or two persons : it 
is, indeed, by no means remarkable in its structure, 
and is chiefly employed by the Cathlamahs and 
Wahkiacums among the marshy islands. The sec- 
ond is from twenty to thirty-five feet long, about 
two and a half or three feet in the beam, and two 
feet in the hold. It is chiefly remarkable in having 
the bowsprit, which rises to some height above the 
bow, formed by tapering graduallly from the sides 
into a sharp point. Canoes of this shape are com- 
mon to all the nations below the Grand Rapids. 

" But the canoes most used by the Columbia In- 
dians, from the Chilluckittequaws inclusive to the 
ocean, are from thirty to thirty-five feet long. The 
bow, which looks more like the stern of our boats, 
is higher than the other end, and is ornamented with 
a sort of comb, an inch in thickness, cut out of the 
same log which forms the canoe, and extending from 
nine to eleven inches from the bowsprit to the bot- 
tom of the boat. The stern is neatly rounded off, 
and gradually ascends to a point. This canoe is 
very light and convenient ; for, though it will con- 
tain ten or twelve persons, it may be carried with 
great ease by four. 

" The fourth and largest kind of canoe we did not 
meet till we reached tide-water, near the Grand 
Rapids below, where they are found among all the 
nations, especially the Killamucks and others resi- 
ding on the seacoast. They are upward of fifty 
feet long, and will carry from eight to ten thousand 
pounds' weight, or from twenty to thirty persons. 
Like all the canoes we have mentioned, they are 
cut out of a single trunk of a tree, which is generally 
white cedar, though the fir is sometimes used. The 
sides are secured by cross-bars or round sticks 
two or three inches in thickness, which are inserted 
through holes made just below the gunwale, and 
made fast with cords. The upper edge of the gun- 



MODE OF MANAGING THEIR CANOES. 137 

wale itself is about five eighths of an inch thick and 
four or five in breadth, and folds outward, so as to 
form a kind of rim, which prevents the water from 
beating into the boat. The bow and stern are about 
the same height, and each provided with a comb, 
reaching to the bottom of the boat. At each enr* 
also are pedestals, formed of the same solid piece, 
on which are placed strange grotesque figures of 
men or animals, rising sometimes to the height of 
five feet, and composed of small pieces of wood, 
firmly united, with great ingenuity, by inlaying and 
mortising, without a spike of any kind. The paddle 
is usually from four feet and a half to five feet in 
length, the handle being thick for one third of its 
length, when it widens, and is hollowed and thinned 
on each side of the centre, which forms a sort of rib. 
When they embark, one Indian sits in the stern, and 
steers with a paddle, the others kneel in pairs in the 
bottom of the canoe, and, sitting on their heels, pad- 
dle over the gunwale next to them. In this way 
they ride with perfect safety the highest waves,and 
venture without the least concern in seas where 
other boats or seamen could not live an instant. 
They sit quietly, with no other movement but that 
required in paddling, except a large wave chances to 
throw the boat on her side, and to the eye of a spec- 
tator she seems lost, when the man to windward 
steadies her by throwing his body towards the up- 
per side, and sinking his paddle deep into the wave, 
appearing to catch the water and force it under the 
boat, while the same stroke pushes her on with 
great velocity. In the management of these ca- 
noes, the women are equally as expert as the men ; 
for in the smaller boats, which contain four oars- 
men, the helm is generally given to a female. As 
soon as they land, the canoe is generally drawn on 
shore, unless she is very heavily laden ; but at night 
the load is universally taken out, and the canoe 
hauled u*^ 



138 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" Our admiration of their skill in these curious 
constructions was increased by observing the very 
inadequate implements which they use. These In- 
dians possess very few axes, and the only tool they 
employ, from felling the tree to the delicate work- 
manship of the images, is a chisel made of an old 
file, about an inch or an inch and a half in width. 
Even of this, too, they have not learned the proper 
management ; for the chisel is sometimes fixed in a 
large block of wood, and, being held in the right 
hand, the block is pushed with the left, without the 
aid of a mallet. But under all these disadvantages, 
their canoes, which one would suppose to be the 
work of years, are made in a few weeks. A canoe, 
however, is very highly prized, being in traffic an 
article of the greatest value except a wife, and of 
equal value with her ; so that a lover generally gives 
a canoe to the father in exchange for his daughter." 

Nothing special occurred from the 14th to the 
20th. As they had a supply of salt, they used it in 
curing the meat brought in by the hunters ; and the 
season for their return being near at hand, they were 
busily employed in' preparing clothes, «fec., for the 
journey. 



PERSONS OF THE KILLAMUCKS, ETC. 139 



CHAPTER VII. 

farther Account of the Clatsops, Killamucks, and Chinnooks i 
also of the Cathlamahs. — Their Custom of Flattening the 
Forehead, — Their Dress and Ornaments described. — Their 
Diseases. — The common Opmion that the Treatment of their 
Women is the Standard by which the Virtues of the Indians 
may be known, combated, and disproved by Examples. — 
The Respect entertained by these Indians for old Age, com- 
pared with the diflferent Conduct of those who subsist by the 
Chase. — Their Mode of Government. — Their Ignorance of ar- 
dent Spirits, and their Fondness for Gambling. — Their Dex- 
terity in Traffic. — In what Articles their Traffic consists. — 
Their extraordinary Fondness for blue Beads, which form 
their circulating Medium. 

" The Killamucks." continues the Journal, " and 
the Clatsops, Chinnooks, and Cathlamahs, the four 
neighbouring nations with whom we had most in- 
tercourse, have a general resemblance in person, 
dress, and manners. They are commonly of a di- 
minutive stature, badly shaped, and their appearance 
is by no means prepossessing. They have broad, 
thick, flat feet, thick ankles, and crooked legs ; the 
last of which deformities is to be ascribed, in part, 
as we have already observed, to the universal prac- 
tice of squatting, or sitting on the calves of their 
legs and on their heels, and also to the tight banda- 
ges of beads and strings worn round the ankles by 
the women, which prevent the circulation of the 
blood, and render the legs of the females, in particu- 
lar, ill shaped and swollen. The complexion is the 
usual copper-coloured brown of the North American 
tribes, though it is rather lighter than that of the In- 
dians on the Missouri and the frontiers of the Uni- 
ted States. The mouth is wide, and the lips are 
thick : the nose is of a moderate size, fleshy, wide 



140 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 

at the extremities, with large nostrils, and generally 
low between the eyes, though there are rare instan- 
ces of high aquiline noses ; the eyes are generally 
black, though we occasionally saw them of a dark 
yellowish-brown, with a black pupil. But the most 
distinguishing part of their physiognomy is the pe- 
culiar flatness and width of their forehead : a pecu- 
liarity which they owe to one of those customs by 
which nature is sacrificed to fantastic ideas of beau- 
ty. The practice, indeed, of flattening the head by 
artificial pressure during infancy, prevails among all 
the nations we have seen west of the Rocky Mount- 
ains ; whereas to the east of that barrier the fashion 
is so perfectly unknown, that there the western In- 
dians, with the exception of the Alliatan or Snake 
nation, are designated by the common name of Flat- 
heads. This singular usage, which it would scarce- 
ly seem possible that nature should suggest to re- 
mote nations, might perhaps inchne us to believe 
in the common and not very ancient origin of all the 
western tribes. Such an opinion would well accord 
with the fact that, while on the lower parts of the 
Columbia both sexes are universally flatheads, the 
custom diminishes in receding eastward from the 
common centre of the practice, till among the remo- 
ter tribes near the mountains nature recovers her 
rights, and the exhausted folly is confined to a few 
females. This opinion, however, is corrected or 
weakened by considering that the flattening of the 
head is not, in fact, peculiar to that part of the con- 
tinent, since it was among the first objects which 
struck the attention of Columbus. 

" But, wherever it may have begun, the practice is 
now universal among these nations. Soon after the 
birth of her child, the mother, anxious to procure for 
her infant the recommendation of a broad forehead, 
places it in the compressing machine, where it is 
kept for ten or twelve months, though the females 
remain longer than the boys. The operation is so 



DRESS OF THE KILLAMUCKS. 141 

gradual that it is not attended with pain; but the 
impression is deep and permanent. The heads of 
the children, when they are released from the band- 
age, are not more than two inches thick about the 
upper edge of the forehead, and still thinner above ; 
nor, with all her efforts, can nature ever restore 
their proper shape, the heads of grown persons be- 
ing often in a straight line from the nose to the top 
of the forehead. 

" The hair of both sexes is parted at the top of 
the head, and thence falls loosely behind the ears, 
over the back and shoulders. They use combs, of 
which they are very fond ; but contrive, without the 
aid of them, to keep their hair in very good order. 
The dress of the men consists of a small robe, reach- 
ing to the middle of the thigh, tied by a string across 
the breast, with its corners hanging loosely over 
their arms. These robes are, in general, composed 
of the skins of a small animal which we supposed to 
be the brown mungo. They have, besides, those 
made of the tiger, cat, deer, panther, bear, and elk 
skin, which last is principally used in war parties. 
Sometimes they have a blanket, woven with the fin- 
gers from the wool of their native sheep. Occasion- 
ally a mat is thrown over them to keep off the rain ; 
but they have no article of clothing during winter 
or summer excepting this robe, so that every part 
of the body but the head and shoulders is exposed 
to view. They are very fond of the dress of the 
whites, whom they call pashisheooks, or clothmen ; 
and, whenever they can procure any of our clothes, 
wear them in our manner : the only article, indeed, 
used by the whites, which we have not seen among 
them, is the shoe. 

" The robe of the women is like that worn by the 
men, except that it does not reach below the waist. 
Those most esteemed are made of strips of sea- 
otter skin, which, being twisted, are interwoven with 
silk-grass or the bark of the white cedar in such a 



J 42 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

manner that the fur appears equally on both sides, 
so as to form a soft and warm covering. The skin 
of the raccoon or beaver is also employed in the same 
way ; though, on other occasions, these skins are 
simply dressed in the hair, and worn without farther 
preparation. The garment which covers the body 
from the waist as low as the knee before and the 
thigh behind, is the tissue already described, and is 
made either of the bruised bark of white cedar, 
twisted cords of silk-grass, or of flags and rushes. 
Neither leggins nor moccasins are ever used, the 
mildness of the climate not requiring them as a se- 
curity from the weather, and their being so much in 
the water rendering them an encumbrance. The 
only covering for the head is a hat made of bear- 
grass and the bark of cedar, interwoven in a conic 
form, with a knob of the same shape at the top. It 
has no brim, but is held on the head by a string pass- 
ing under the chin, and tied to a small rim inside of 
the hat. The colours are generally black and white 
only, and these are made into squares, triangles, and 
sometimes rude figures of canoes and seamen har- 
pooning whales. This is all the usual dress of the 
females ; but if the weather be unusually severe, 
they add a vest formed of skins like the robe, and 
tied behind, without any shoulder-straps to keep it 
up." * * * 

" Sometimes, though not often, they mark their 
skins by puncturing and introducing some coloured 
matter : this ornament is chiefly confined to the 
women, who thus imprint on their legs and arms 
circular or parallel dots. On the arm of one of the 
squaws, as has been before mentioned, we read the 
name of ' J. Bowman,' probably a trader who has 
visited the mouth of the Columbia. The favourite 
decoration, however, of both sexes, consists of the 
common coarse blue or white beads, which are fold- 
ed very tightly round their wrists and ankles, to the 
width of three or four inches, and worn in large loose 



CHARACTER OF THE KILLAMUCKS, ETC. 143 

rolls round the neck, or as earrings, or hanging from 
the nose, which last mode is pecuUar to the men. 
There is also a species of wampum very much in 
use, which seems to be worn in its Jiatural form, 
without any preparation. It is in the shape of a 
cone, somewhat curved, about the size of a raven's 
quill at the base, and tapering to a point, its whole 
length being from one to two and a half inches, 
white, smooth, hard, and thin. A small thread is 
passed through it, and the wampum is either sus- 
pended from the nose, or passed through the carti- 
lage horizontally, forming a ring from which other 
ornaments hang. Wampum is employed in the 
same way as beads, but more especially as a deco- 
ration for the noses of the men, who also use col- 
lars made of bears' claws, while the women and 
children wear those of elk's tusks, and both sexes 
are adorned with bracelets of copper, iron, or brass, 
in various forms." * * * 

" The Clatsops, and other nations at the mouth of 
the Columbia, visited us with great freedom, and we 
endeavoured to cultivate their friendship, as well for 
the purposes of obtaining information, as to leave 
behind us impressions favourable to our country. 
Having acquired much of their language, we were 
enabled, with the aid of gestures, to hold conversa- 
tions with great ease. We found them inquisitive 
and loquacious, with understandings by no means 
deficient in acuteness, and with very retentive mem- 
ories ; and, though fond of feasts, and generally 
cheerful, they are never gay. Everything they ob- 
serve excites their attention and inquiry ; but, having 
been accustomed to see the whites, nothing appear- 
ed to astonish them more than the air-gun. To all 
our questions they answered with great intelligence, 
and the conversation rarely slackened, as there was 
a constant discussion of the events, trade, politics, 
&c., in the small but active circle of the Killa- 
mucks, Clatsops, Cathlamahs, Wahkiacums, and 
Chinnooks." * * * 

II.— M 



144 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" The treatment of their women is often consid- 
ered as the standard by which the moral qualities 
of savages are to be estimated. Our own observa- 
tion, however, induced us to think that the condition 
of the female in savage life has no necessary rela- 
tion to the virtues of the men, but is regulated wholly 
by their capacity to be useful. The Indians who 
treat their females most mildly, and pay most def- 
erence to their opinions, are by no means the most 
distinguished for their virtues ; nor is this deference 
attended by any increase of attachment. On the 
other hand, the tribes among whom the women are 
very much debased, possess the loftiest sense of 
honour, the greatest liberality, and all the good qual- 
ities of which their situation demands the exercise. 
Where the women can aid in procuring food for the 
tribe, they are treated with more equality, and their 
importance is proportioned to the share which they 
cake in that labour ; while in countries where sub- 
sistence is chiefly procured by the exertions of the 
men, the women are considered and treated as bur- 
dens. Thus, among the Clatsops and Chinnooks, 
who live upon fish and roots, which the women are 
equally expert with the men in procuring, the former 
have a rank and influence very rarely found among 
Indians. Here the females are permitted to speak 
freely before the men, whom, indeed, they some- 
times address in a tone of authority. On many sub- 
jects their judgment and opinions are respected, and 
in matters of trade their advice is generally asked 
and followed. The labours of the family are shared 
almost equally. The men collect wood and attend 
to the fires, assist in cleaning the fish, make the 
houses, canoes, and wooden utensils ; and, whenever 
strangers are to be entertained, or a great feast pre- 
pared, the meats are cooked and served up by them. 
The peculiar province of the female is to gather 
roots, and to manufacture the various articles which 
are formed of rushes, flags, cedar bark, and bear- 



THEIR TREATMENT OF THE AGED. 145 

grass ; but the management of the canoes, and many 
of the occupations, which elsewhere devolve wholly 
on the female, are here common to both sexes. 

" The observation in regard to the treatment of 
females applies with equal force to that of old men. 
Among tribes who subsist by hunting, the labours 
of the chase and the wandering existence to which 
that occupation condemns them, necessarily throw 
the burden of procuring provisions on the active 
young men. As soon, therefore, as a man is no^ 
longer able to pursue the chase, he begins to with- 
draw something from the precarious supplies of the 
tribe. Still, however, his counsels may compensate 
his want of activity ; but in the next stage of infirm- 
ity, when he can no longer travel from camp to 
camp, as the tribe roams about for food, he is found 
to be a heavy burden. In this situation the aged are 
abandoned among the Sioux, the Assiniboins, and 
the hunting tribes on the Missouri. As they are set- 
ting out for some new excursion, where the old man 
is unable to follow, his children or nearest connex- 
ions place before him a piece of meat and some wa- 
ter, and telling him that he has lived long enough, 
that it is now time for him to go home to his rela- 
tions, who can take better care of him than his 
friends on earth, leave him, without remorse, to per- 
ish when his little supply is exhausted. The same 
custom is said to prevail among the Minnetarees, 
A.hnahawas, and Ricaras, when they are encumber- 
ed by old men on their hunting excursions. Yet in 
their villages we saw no want of kindness to the 
aged : on the contrary, probably because in villages 
the means of more abundant subsistence renders 
such cruelty unnecessary, old people appeared to be 
treated with attention, and some of their feasts, par- 
ticularly the buffalo dances, are intended chiefly for 
the entertainment of the aged and infirm, 

" The dispositions of these people seem mild and 
inoffensive, and their behaviour to us was uniformly 



146 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the most friendly. They are addicted to begging, 
and to pilfering small articles when it can be done 
without danger of detection, but do not rob wanton- 
ly, nor to any large amount : some of them having 
purloined some of the meat which our hunters had 
been obhged to leave in the woods, they voluntarily 
brought some dogs a few days after, by way of com- 
pensation. Our numbers, and great superiority in 
the use of firearms, enabled us always to command ; 
and such was the friendly deportment of these peo- 
ple, that the men were accustomed to treat them 
with the greatest confidence. It was therefore with 
difliculty that we could impress on our men a con- 
viction of the necessity of being always on our guard, 
since we were perfectly acquainted with the treach- 
erous character of Indians generally. We were al- 
ways prepared for an attack, and uniformly excluded 
all considerable parties of the natives from the fort. 
" Their large houses usually contain several fami- 
lies, consisting of the parents, their children, their 
sons and daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, among 
whom the provisions are all in common, and whose 
harmony is scarcely ever interrupted by disputes. 
Although polygamy is permitted by their customs, 
very few have more than a single wife ; and she is 
brought immediately after the marriage into the hus- 
band's family, where she resides until increasing 
numbers oblige them to seek another house. In 
this state the old man is not considered as the head 
of the family, since the active duties, as well as prin- 
cipal responsibiUty, fall on some of the younger 
members. As these families gradually expand into 
bands, tribes, or nations, the paternal authority is 
represented by the chief of each association. This 
chieftain, however, is not hereditary ; his ability to 
be of service to his tribe, and the popularity which 
follows it, being at once the foundation and measure 
of his authority, the exsrcise of which does not ex- 
tend beyond a reprimard for some improper action. 



THEIR PASSION FOR GAMBLING. 147 

"The harmony of their private life is indeed se- 
cured by their ignorance of spirituous liquors, the 
earliest and most dreadful present which civilization 
has bestowed on the other natives of the Continent. 
Although they have had so much intercourse with 
the whites, they do not appear to possess any knowl- 
edge of those dangerous luxuries : at least, they 
never inquired of us after them, which they probably 
would have done if they had ever been introduced 
among them. Indeed, we did not observe any liquor 
of an intoxicating quality used among these or any 
Indians west of the Rocky Mountains, the universal 
beverage being pure water. They, however, some- 
times almost intoxicate themselves with tobacco, of 
which they are excessively fond ; and the pleasure 
of which they prolong as much as possible, by re- 
taining vast quantities of the smoke at a time, till, 
after circulating through the lungs and stomach, it 
issues in volumes from the mouth and nostrils. But 
the most inveterate vice of all these people is an at- 
tachment to g^mes of hazard, which they pursue 
with a strange and ruinous avidity. Their games 
are of two kinds. In the first, of which we have al- 
ready given some account, one of the company as- 
sumes the office of banker, and plays against the 
rest. He takes a small stone, about the size of a 
bean, which he shifts from one hand to the other 
with great dexterity, repeating, at the same time, a 
song adapted to the game, and which serves to divert 
the attention of the company, till, having agreed on 
the stake, he holds out his hands, and his antagonist 
wins or loses as he succeeds or fails in guessing in 
which hand the stone is. After the banker has lost 
his money, or whenever he is tired, the stone is 
transferred to another, who in turn challenges the 
company. The other play is something like that of 
ninepins : the two. pins are placed on the floor, at 
about the distance of a foot from each other, and a 
sm?.ll hole is made behind them. The players then 



148 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

go about ten feet from the hole, into which they try 
to roll, between the pins, a small piece resembling 
the men used at draughts. If they succeed in get- 
ting it into the hole, they win the stake ; if the piece 
passes between the pins, but does not go into the 
hole, nothing is won or lost ; but the wager is whol- 
ly lost if the piece rolls outside of the pins. Entire 
days are wasted at these games, which are often 
continued through the night round the blaze of their 
fires, till the last article of clothing, and even the 
last blue bead, is won from the desperate adventurer. 

" In traffic they are acute and intelligent, display- 
ing a dexterity and finesse that would scarcely be 
expected. They begin by asking double or treble 
its value for their merchandise, and lower their de- 
mands in proportion to the ardour or indifference of 
the purchaser: and if he expresses any anxiety, the 
smallest article, even a handful of roots, will furnish 
a whole morning's negotiation. Being naturally 
suspicious, they, of course, conceive that you are 
pursuing the same system. They therefore invari- 
ably refuse the first offer, however high, fearful that 
they or the other party may have mistaken the value 
of the merchandise, and cautiously wait for a larger 
offer. In this way, after rejecting the most extrav- 
agant prices, which we had offered merely for ex- 
periment, they would afterward importune us for a 
tenth part of what they had before refused. In this 
respect they differ from almost all Indians, who will 
generally exchange, in a thoughtless moment, the 
most valuable article they possess for any bawble 
which happens to please their fancy. 

" These habits of cunning or prudence have been 
formed or increased by their being largely engaged 
in the traffic of the Columbia : of this trade, howev- 
er, the chief mart is at the Falls, where all the neigh- 
bouring nations assemble. The inhabitants of the 
plains on the Columbia, after having passed the win- 
ter near the mountains, come down as soon as the 



TRADE OF THE INDIANS. 149 

snow has left the valleys, and are occupied in col- 
iecting and drying roots till about the month of May. 
They then crowd to the river, and, fixing themselves 
on its north side, to avoid the incursions of the Snake 
Indians, continue fishing till about the first of Sep- 
tember, when the salmon are no longer fit for use. 
Then they bury their fish, and return to the plains, 
where they remain gathering quamash till the snow 
obliges them to desist, when they come back to the 
Columbia, and, taking their store of fish, retire to the 
foot of the mountains and along the creeks which 
supply timber for their houses, and pass the winter 
in hunting deer or elk, which, with the aid of their 
fish, enables them to subsist till the spring, on the 
arrival of which they resume the same circle of em- 
ployments. During their residence on the rivers, 
from May to September, or, rather, before they begin 
the regular fishery, they go down to the Falls, car- 
rying with them skins, mats, silk-grass, rushes, and 
root-bread. They are here met by the Chopunnish 
and other tribes of the Rocky Mountains, who de- 
scend the Kooskooskee and Lewis Rivers for the 
purpose of selling bear-grass, horses, quamash^ and 
the few skins they may have obtained by hunting, or 
in exchange for horses with the Tushepaws. 

" At the Falls they find the Chilluckittequaws, 
Eneeshurs, Echeloots, and Skilloots, which last serve 
as intermediate traders or carriers between the in- 
habitants above and below the Falls. These tribes 
prepare pounded fish for market, and the nations be- 
low bring wappatoo roots, the fish of the seacoast, 
berries, and such trinkets and small articles as they 
have procured from the whites. 

" The trade then begins. The Chopunnish and 
other Indians of the Rocky Mountains exchange the 
articles which they have brought for ivappatoo, 
pounded fish, and beads. The Indians of the plains, 
being their own fishermen, take only wappatoo, hor- 
ses, beads, -j^nd ot^er articles procured from the Eu- 



150 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ropeans. The Indians, however, from Lewis's River 
to the Falls, consume for food or fuel all the fish which 
they take ; so that the whole stock for sale is pre- 
pared by the nations between the Towahniahiooks 
and the Falls, and amounts, as nearly as we could 
estimate, to about thirty thousand pounds, chieflj 
salmon, beyond the quantity which they use them- 
selves, or barter with the more eastern Indians 
This is now carried down the river by the Indians 
at the Falls, and is consumed among the nations a\ 
the mouth of the Columbia, who, in return, give the 
fish of the seacoast, and the articles which they ob- 
tain from the whites. The neighbouring tribes 
catch large quantities of salmon and dry them, but 
they do not understand the art of drying and pound- 
ing it in the manner practised at the Falls, and, be- 
ing very fond of it, are forced to purchase it at high 
prices. This article, indeed, and the wappatoo., form 
the principal objects of trade with the people of our 
immediate vicinity. The traffic is wholly carried on 
by water; and there are not even any roads or paths 
through the country, except across the portages 
which connect the creeks. 

" But that which chiefly gives animation to this 
trade is the visits of the whites. They arrive gen- 
erally about the month of April, and either return 
in October, or remain till that time ; during which 
period, having no establishment on shore, they an- 
chor on the north side of the bay, at the place al- 
ready described, which is a spacious and commo- 
dious harbour, perfectly secure from all except the 
south and southeast winds; and, as they leave it be- 
fore winter, they do not suffer from these, which are 
the most usual and violent at that season. This 
situation is also recommended by its neighbourhood 
to fresh water, wood, and excellent timber for re< 
pairs. Here they are immediately visited by the 
tribes along the coast, by the Cathlamahs, and, last- 
ly, by the Skilloots, that numerous and active peo- 



PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF TRAFFIC. 151 

pie who skirt the river between the marshy islands 
and the Grand Rapids, as well as the Coweliskee, 
and who carry down the fish prepared by their im- 
mediate neighbours, the Chilluckittequaws, Enee- 
shurs, and Echeeloots, residing from the Grand Rap- 
ids to the Falls, and also the articles which they 
have themselves procured in barter at the market in 
May. The principal articles of traffic now concen- 
trated at the mouth of the Columbia consist of dress- 
ed and undressed skins of the elk, sea-otter, com- 
mon otter, beaver, common fox, spuck, and tiger- 
cat; besides articles of less importance, as a small 
quantity of dried or pounded salmon, biscuit made 
of the chappelell root, and some of the manufac- 
tures of the neighbourhood. In return they receive 
guns (principally old British or American muskets), 
powder, ball and shot, copper and brass kettles, 
brass teakettles and coffee-pots, blankets, coarse 
scarlet and blue cloth, plates and strips of sheet 
copper and brass, large brass wire, knives, tobacco, 
fish-hooks, buttons, and a considerable quantity of 
sailors' hats, trowsers, coats, and shirts. But, as we 
have had occasion to remark more than once, the 
objects most desired are the common cheap blue or 
white beads, of from about fifty to seventy to the 
pennyweight, which are strung on strands a fathom 
long, and sold by the yard, or the length of both 
arms. Of these, blue beads, which are called tia 
commaskuck^ or chief beads, hold the first rank in 
their estimation ; the most inferior kind being more 
highly prized than the finest wampum, and off*ering 
a temptation so strong as to induce them to part 
with their most valuable eff'ects. Indeed, if the ex- 
ample of civilized life did not completely vindicate 
their predilection, we might wonder at their infatu- 
ated fondness for a bawble in itself so worthless. 
Yet these beads are perhaps quite as reasonable 
objects of passionate desire as the precious metals, 
since they are at once benutiful ornaments for the 



15*^ LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

person, and furnish the chief medium of trade among 
the nations on the Columbia. ^. . .u 

" These strangers, who visit the Columbia for the 
purpose of trade or hunting, must be either English 
or Americans. The Indians informed us that they 
spoke the same language as we did ; and, indeed, 
the few words which they have learned from the 
sailors, such as musket, powder, shot, knife, file, 
heave the lead, and other phrases, sufficiently show 
this " * * * 

" The nations near the mouth of the Columbia en- 
]oy ffreat tranquillity, none of them being engaged 
in war. Not long since, however, some of the tribes 
were at war on the coast to the southwest, in which 
the Killamucks took several prisoners. These, as 
far as we could perceive, were treated very kindly, 
and, though nominally slaves, they had been adopted 
into the families of their masters, the young ones 
being placed on the same footing with their children. 
" The month of February and the greater part ot 
March were passed much in the same manner. 
Every day, parties as large as we could spare from 
our other occupations were sent out to hunt, and we 
were thus enabled to command some days' provision 
in advance. This consisted chiefly of deer and elk 
meat : the first was very lean, and by no means as 
good as that of the elk, which, though it had been 
poor, was getting better : it was, indeed, our chiet de- 
pendance. At this season of the year the animals 
are in much better order in the prairies near the point, 
where they feed on grass and rushes, considerable 
quantities of which remain green, than in the woody 
country up the Netul. There they subsist on whor- 
tleberry bushes and fern, but chiefly on an evergreen 
called shallun, resembling the laurel, which abounds 
through all the timbered lands, particularly along the 
broken sides of hills. Towards the latter end ot 
February, however, they left the prairies near Point 
Adams, and reti -ed back to the hills ; but, fortunately, 



CLATSOP CHIEF, COMOWOOL. 153 

at the same time the sturgeon and anchovies began 
to appear, and afforded us a delicious variety of food. 
The party on the seacoast continued to supply us 

with salt." * * * 

" The neighbouring tribes still visited us for the 
purpose of trading, or to smoke with us. On the 
21st, a Chinnook chief, whom we had not before 
seen, came over with twenty-five of his men. His 
name was Taheum : a man about fifty years of age, 
of a larger stature and better carriage, than most of 
his nation. We received him with the usual cere- 
monies, gave the party something to eat, smoked 
very freely with them all, and presented the chief 
with a small medal. They seemed well satisfied 
with their treatment ; but, though we were willing to 
show the chief every civility, we could not dispense 
with our rule of not suffering a large number of stran- 
gers to sleep in the fort. They therefore left us at 
sunset. On the 24th, Comowool, who was by far the 
most friendly and decent savage we had seen in this 
neighbourhood, came with a large party of Clatsops, 
bringing, among other articles, sturgeon, and a small 
fish which had just begun to make its appearance in 
the Columbia." 

As the elk were now less plentiful, they subsisted 
on fish whenever they could take them, or their lim- 
ited means would procure them from the Indians. 
There were a considerable number of invalids in the 
party, the principal complaint being a sort of influ- 
enza, which they ascribed to the nature of the clh 
mate. 



154 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Difficulty of procuring tlie Means of Subsistence. — They deter- 
mine to start on their Journey to the Mountains. — They leave 
with the Indians a written Memorandum, giving an Account 
of their having penetrated to the Pacific by the way of the 
Missouri and Columbia, and across the Rocky Mountains. — 
The Party commence their Return, — Dexterity of the Cath- 
lamah Indians in Carving. — The Coweiiskee River. — Hospi- 
tality of the Natives. — Instance of the extreme Voracity of the 
Vulture. — The Party are visited by many strange Indians, all 
of whom are kind and hospitable.— Scarcity of Game, and 
Embarrassments on that Account.— Captain Clarke discovers 
a Tribe not seen in the Descent down the Columbia. — Partic- 
ular Deseription of the Multnomah Village and River. — Mount 
Jefferson. — Captain Clarke's Account of the Neerchokio 
Tribe, and of their Architecture.— Their Sufferings from 
Smallpox. 

" Many reasons," continues the Journal, " had de- 
termined us to remain at Fort Clatsop till the 1st of 
April. Besides the want of fuel in the plains on the 
Columbia, and the impracticability of passing the 
mountains before the beginning of June, we were 
anxious to see some of the foreign traders, from 
whom, by means of our ample letters of credit, we 
might recruit our exhausted stores of merchandise. 
About the middle of March, however, we became 
seriously alarmed for the want of food : the elk, our 
chief dependance, had at length deserted their usual 
haunts in our neighbourhood, and retreated to the 
mountains. We were too poor to purchase other 
food from tlie Indians, so that we were sometimes 
reduced, notwithstanding all the exertions of our 
hunters, to a single day's provision in advance. 
The men, too, whom the constant rains and confine- 
ment had rendered unhealthy, might, we hoped, be 
benefited by quitting the coast, and »'esuming the ex- 



PREPAEATIONS FOR THE HOMEWARD ROUTE. 155 

ercise of travelling. We determined, therefore, to 
feaie Fort Clatsop, ascend the river slowly, spend 
he remainder of March in the woody country 
where we hoped to find subsistence, and in this 
way reaTh the plains about the first of April, before 
Sh tTme it Jould be fruitless to aUe-pt cmssing 
them ; and for this purpose we now began our prep- 

^'''^Durincr the winter we had been very indu^rious 
in dressiirg skins, so that we had now a sufficien 
rmantitv of clothing, besides between three and four 
TndrS plirs of m'occasins. But the whole stock o 
crnnris on which WO wcre to depend, both lor me 
ZfcLTeoJhoTses and of food, during the long tour 
of nearly four thousand miles, was so miich diniin- 
^shed that It might all be tied in two handkerchiefs 
We had, in fact? nothing but six blue robes, one of 
scarlet a coat and hat of the United States artillery 
uniform!five robes made of our large flag, and a few 
o d cloThes trimmed with riband. We therefore felt 
that our chief dependance must be on our guns 
which, fortunately, were all in good order, as we had 
^ken the precaution of bringing a number of extra 
lock" and one of our men proved to be an excellent 
arUsrin tha way. The powder had been secured 
n faden canistJrs, and though on many occasions 
they had been under water, it had remained per- 
fectlv dry, and we now found ourselves in posses- 
sion of one hundred and forty pounds of POwder and 
twice that weight of lead, a stock quite sufficient for 
the route homeward. j j ;„ 

"After much trafficking, we at last succeeded in 
purchasing a canoe for a uniform coat and half a 
carrot of tobacco, and took another from the Clat- 
cons by way of reprisal for some elk which they 
ha^d sSen from us in the winter. We were now 
ready to leave, but the rain prevented us for several 
days from caulking the canoes, and we were forced 
to wait for calm weather before we could attempt 



156 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

to pass Point William. In the mean time we were 
visited by many of our neighbours, for the purpose 
of taking leave of us= The Clatsop Comowool 
had been the most friendly and hospitable of all the 
Indians in this quarter : we therefore gave him a 
certificate of the kindness and attention which we 
had received from him, and added a more substan- 
tial proof of our gratitude — the gift of all our houses 
and furniture. To the Chinnook chief Delashelwilt 
we gave a certificate of the same kind ; and distrib- 
uted among the natives several papers (one of which 
we also posted up in the fort), to the following ef- 
fect : 

" The object of this is, that through the medium 
of some civilized person who may see the same, it 
may be made known to the world that the party, 
consisting of the persons whose names are hereunto 
annexed, and who were sent out by the government 
of the United States to explore the interior of the 
continent of North America, did cross the same by 
the way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the 
discharge of the latter into the Pacific Ocean, where 
they arrived on the 14th day of November, 1805, and 
departed the 23d day of March, 1806, on their return 
to the United States, by the same route by which 
they had come out.'* On the back of some of these 

* By a singular casualty this note fell into the possession of 
Captain Hill, who, while on the coast of the Pacific, procured it 
from the natives. This note was taken by him to Canton, from 
whence it was brought to the United States. The following is 
an extract of a letter from a gentleman at Canton to his friend 
in Philadelphia : 

Extract of a letter from to in Philadelphia. 

Canton, January, 1807. 

I wrote you last by the Governor Strong, Cleveland, for Bos- 
ton ; the present is by the brig Lydia, Hill, of the same place. 

Captain Hill, while on the coast, met some Indian natives 
near the mouth of the Columbia River, who delivered to him a 
paper, of which I enclose you a copy. It had been committed to 
their charge by Cap/ains Clarke and Lewis, who had penetrated 



THE PARTY COMMENCE THEIR RETURN. 157 

papers we sketched the connexion of the upper 
branches of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, with 
our route, and the track which we intended to fol- 
low on our return." * * * 

" The rains and wind still confined us to the fort ; 
but at last our provisions were reduced to a single 
day's slock, and it became absolutely necessary to 
remove : we therefore sent a few hunters ahead, 
and stopped the rents in the boats as well as we 
could with mud. 

" March 23. The canoes were loaded, and at one 
o'clock in the afternoon we took a final leave of Fort 
Clatsop. The wind was still high, but we must have 
remained without provisions, and we hoped to be 
able to double Point William. We had scarcely 
left the fort, when we met Delashelwilt and a party 
of twenty Chinnooks, who, understanding that we 
had been trying to procure a canoe, had brought one 
for sale. Being, however, already supplied, we left 
them, and, after getting out of Meriwether's Bay, 
began to coast along the south side of the riv&r. 
We doubled Point William without any accident, 
and at six o'clock reached, at the distance of sixteen 
miles from Fort Clatsop, the mouth of a small creek, 
where we found our hunters." * * * 

Starting immediately after breakfast the next 
morning, at one o'clock they reached the Cathlamah 
village, opposite to the Seal Islands, and which has 
been already mentioned. " These people," says the 
Journal, " seem to be more fond of carving in wood 

to the Pacific Ocean. The original is a rough draught with a pen 
of their outward route, and that which they intended returning 
by. Just below the junction of Madison's River they found an 
immense fall of three hundred and sixty-two feet perpendicular. 
This, I believe, exceeds in magnitude any other known. From 
the natives Captain Hill learned that they were all in good 
health and spirits ; had met many difficulties on their progress 
from various tribes of Indians, but had found them about the 
sources of the Missouri very friendly, as were those on Colum 
bia River and \^f^ '^"°ai. — Note of the original Editor. 



158 LEWIS AND Clarke's expcdition. 

than their neighbours, and have vaiinis specimens 
of their workmanship about their nouses. The 
broad piece supporting the roof and the board 
through which the doors are cut are the objects on 
which they chiefly display their ingenuity, being or- 
namented with curious figures, sometimes repre- 
senting persons in a sitting posture supporting a 
burden. On resuming our route among the Seal 
Islands we mistook our way, which an Indian ob- 
serving, he pursued us and put us in the right chan- 
nel. Soon, however, he somewhat embarrassed us 
by claiming the canoe we had taken from the Clat- 
sops, and which he declared to be his property. We 
had found it among the Clatsops, and seized it, as 
has been already stated, by way of reprisal for a 
theft committed by that nation ; but, being unwilling 
to do an act of injustice to this Indian, and having 
no time to discuss the question of right, we com- 
promised the matter with him for an elkskin, with 
which he returned perfectly satisfied." * * * After 
making a distance of fifteen miles, they encamped 
opposite to the lower village of the Wahkiacums. 

The two following days they ascended the rivei 
about thirty-three miles, meeting with different par- 
ties of the Clatsops and Cathlamahs, from whom 
they obtained a small supply of fish, while their 
hunters succeeded in kilUng a goose and three ea- 
gles. 

" March 27. We set out early," continues the 
Journal, " and were soon joined by some Skilloots 
with fish and roots for sale. At ten o'clock we 
stopped to breakfast at two houses of the same na- 
tion, where we found our hunters, who had not re- 
turned to camp last night, but had killed nothing. 
The inhabitants seemed very kind and hospitable. 
They gave almost the whole party as much as they 
could eat of dried anchovies, wappatoo, sturgeon, 
quamash, and a small white tuberous root, two inch- 
es long, and as thick as a man's finger, which, when 



THE COWELISKEE RIVER. 159 

eulen raw, is crisp, milky, and of an agreeable fla- 
vour. They also urged us to remain with them all 
the day, and hunt elk and deer, which they said were 
abundant in the neighbourhood ; but, as the weather 
would not permit us to dry and pitch our canoes, we 
declined their invitation, and proceeded. At the dis- 
tance of two miles we passed the entrance of Cowe- 
liskee River. This stream discharges itself on the 
north side of the Columbia, about three miles above 
a remarkably high rocky knoll, the south side of 
which it washes in passing, and which is separa- 
ted from the northern hills by a wide bottom several 
miles in extent. The Coweliskee is one hundred 
and fifty yards wide, deep and navigable, as the In- 
dians assert, for a considerable distance, and most 
probably waters the country west and north of the 
range of mountains which cross the Columbia be- 
tween the Great Falls and Rapids. On the lower 
side of this river, a few miles from its entrance into 
the Columbia, is the principal village of the Skil- 
loots, a numerous people, differing, however, neither 
in language, dress, nor manners from the Clatsops, 
Chinnooks, and other nations at the mouth of the 
Columbia. With the Chinnooks they have lately 
been at war, and, though hostilities have ceased, 
they have not yet resumed their usual intercourse, 
so that the Skilloots do not go down as far as the 
sea, nor do the Chinnooks come higher up than the 
Seal Islands, the trade between them being carried 
on by the Clatsops, Cathlamahs, and Wahkiacums, 
their mutual friends. On this same river, above the 
Skilloots, resides a nation called Hullooetell, of 
whom we learned nothing except that they were 
numerous." * * * They halted late in the evening, 
after making twenty miles, having been enabled to 
purchase of the natives a plentiful supply of fish and 
roots at a very moderate price. 

The next day they set out as usual, but after pro- 
ceeding five miles they landed on Deer Island, where, 
II— N 



160 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the weather becoming fair, they concluded to remain, 
for the purpose of drying their baggage and pitching 
their boats. " Our hunters," proceeds the Journal, 
" brought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an 
eagle, and a tiger-cat ; but such is the extreme vora- 
city of the vultures, that they had devoured in the 
space of a few hours four of the deer killed in the 
morning ; and one of our men declared ihat they had, 
besides, dragged a large buck about thirty yards, skin- 
ned it, and broke the back-bone. We were visiUd 
during the day by a large canoe with ten Indians of 
the Quathlapotle nation, who reside about seventeen 
miles farther up. 

" March 29. At an early hour we proceeded along 
the side of Deer Island, and halted for breakfast at 
the upper end of it, where is properly the commenc-e- 
ment of the great Columbian Valley. We were join- 
ed here by three men of the Towahnahiook nation, 
with whom we proceeded, till at the clistance of four- 
teen miles from our camp of last evening we reached 
a large inlet or arm of the river, about three hundred 
yards wide, up which they went to their villages. A 
short distance above this inlet, a considerable river 
empties itself on the north side of the Columbia ; its 
name is Chawahnahiooks. It is about one hundred 
and fifty yards wide, and discharges a large body of 
water, though the Indians assured us that at a short 
distance above its mouth the navigation is obstructed 
by falls and rapids. Three miles beyond the inlet is 
an island near the north shore of the river, behind 
the lower end of which was a village of Quathlapo- 
tles, where we landed about three o'clock. This vil- 
lage consisted of fourteen large wooden houses. The 
people received us very kindly, and voluntarily spread 
before us anchovies and wappatoo ; but, as soon as we 
had finished enjoying their hospitality, if it deserves 
that name, they began to ask for presents. They 
were, however, perfectly satisfied with the trifling 
articles which we distributed among them, and equaJ* 



QUATHLAPOTLE ISLAND. 161 

ly pleased with our purchasing some wappatoo, twelve 
dogs, and two sea-otter skins. We also gave to the 
chief a small medal, which he soon transferred to 
his wife. After remaining some time we embarked, 
and, coasting along this island , which, after the nation, 
we called Quathlapotle Island, encamped for the night 
m a small prairie on the north side of the Columbia, 
having made by estimate nineteen miles. The river 
was rising fast. In the course of the day we saw 
great numbers of geese, ducks, and large and small 
swans, which last were very abundant in the ponds 
where the wappatoo grew, as they feed much on that 
root. We also observed the crested kingfisher, and 
the large and small blackbird; and in the evening 
heard, without seeing, the large hooting-owl. Frogs, 
which we did not find in the wet marshes near the 
entrance of the Columbia, were now croaking in the 
swamps and marshes, with precisely the same note 
as in the United States. Garter-snakes appeared in 
vast numbers, and were seen in the prairies in large 
oundles of forty or fifty entwined round each other. 
Among the moss on the rocks we observed a species 
of small wild onions, growing so closely together as 
to form a perfect turf, and equal in flavour to the 
chives of our gardens, which they resemble in ap- 
pearance also. 

" March 30. Soon after our departure we were met 
by three Clanaminanums, one of whom we recog- 
nised as our companion yesterday. He pressed us 
very much to visit his countrymen on the inlet, but 
we had no time to make the circuit, and parted. We 
had not proceeded far before a party of Claxtars and 
Cathlacumups passed us in two canoes, on their way 
down the river ; and soon after we were met by sev- 
eral other canoes, filled with Indians of different 
tribes on each side of the river. We also passed 
several fishing camps on Wappatoo Island, and then 
halted for breakfast on the north side of ihe river, 
wear our camp of the 4th of November. Here we 



162 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

were visited by several canoes from two villages on 
Wappatoo Island : the first, about two miles farther 
up, was called Clahnaquah ; the other, a mile above 
it, Multnomah. After higgling much in the manner 
of those on the seacoast, these Indians gave us a 
sturgeon, with some wappatoo and pashequaw, in ex- 
change for a few small fish-hooks. As we proceeded 
we were joined by other Indians, and on coming op- 
posite to the Clahnaquah village, we were shown 
another village, about two miles from the river on 
the northeast side, and behind a pond running paral- 
lel with it. Here they said the tribe called Shotos 
resided. About four o'clock the Indians all left us. 
Their chief object in accompanying us appeared to 
have been to gratify their curiosity ; but, though they 
behaved in the most friendly manner, most of them 
were furnished with their instruments of war. About 
sunset we reached a beautiful prairie, opposite to the 
middle of what we had called Image-Canoe Island ; 
and, having made twenty-three miles, encamped for 
the night." * * * 

The next day they proceeded twenty-five miles, 
passing a considerable stream from the north, which 
they called Seal River, and encamped opposite to 
the upper entrance of Quicksand River. The latter 
stream they ascertained, from the accounts of the 
Indians and by their own examination, to be much 
less extensive than they had supposed in passing it 
on their way down. They remained here till the 
6th of April, for the purpose of collecting a stock of 
provisions. Several parties of Indians were met de- 
scending the river in quest of food. " They told us," 
says the Journal, " that they lived at the Great Rap- 
ids ; but that the scarcity of provisions there had 
induced them to come down, in the hopes of finding 
subsistence in the more fertile valley. All the peo 
plchving at the Rapids, as well as the nations above 
them, were in much distress for want of food, having 
consumed their winter store of dried fish, and no! 



THE PARTy STOP TO COLLECT PROVISIONS. 163 

expecting the return of the salmon before the next 
full moon, which would be on the 2d of May : this 
information was not a little embarrassing. From 
the Falls to the Chopunnish nation, the plains afford- 
ed neither deer, elk, nor antelope for our subsist- 
ence. The horses were very poor at this season, 
and the dogs must be in the same condition, if their 
food, the dried fish, had failed. Still, it was obviously 
inexpedient for us to wait for the return of the salm- 
on, since in that case we might not reach the 
Missouri before the ice would prevent our navigating 
it. We might, besides, hazard the loss of our 
horses, as, the Chopunnish, with whom we had left 
them, would cross the mountains as early as possi- 
ble, or about the beginning of May, and take our 
horses with them, or suffer them to disperse, in either 
of which cases the passage of the mountains will be 
almost impracticable. We therefore, after much de- 
liberation, decided to remain where we were till we 
could collect meat enough to last us till we should 
reach the Chopunnish nation, and to obtain canoes 
from the natives as we ascended, either in exchange 
for our pirogues, or by purchasing them with skins 
and merchandise. These canoes, again, we might 
exchange for horses with the natives of the plains, 
till we should obtain enough to travel altogether by 
land. On reaching the southeast branch of the Co- 
lumbia, four or five men could be sent on to the 
Chopunnish to have our horses in readiness ; and 
thus we should have a stock of horses sufficient 
both to transport our baggage and supply us with 
food, as we now perceived that they would form our 
only certain dependance for subsistence. 

" The hunters returned from the opposite side of 
the river with some deer and elk, which were abun- 
dant there, as were also the tracks of the black bear, 
while on the north side we could kill nothing. 

" In the course of our dealings to-day we pur- 
chased a canoe from an Indian for six fathoms of 



164 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

wampum beads. He seemed perfectly satisfied, and 
went away ; but returned soon after, cancelled the 
bargain, and, giving back the wampum, requested us 
to restore the canoe. To this we consented, as we 
knew that this method of trading was very common, 
and deemed perfectly fair. 

" April 2. Being now determined to collect as 
much game as possible, two parties, consisting of 
nine men, were sent over the river to hunt, and three 
were ordered to range the country on the side where 
we were, while the rest were employed in cutting 
up and scaffolding the meat which had been already 
brought in. About eight o'clock several canoes ar- 
rived with visiters, and among the rest were two 
young men who were pointed out as Cushooks. 
They said that their nation resided at the falls of a 
large river, which emptied itself into the south side 
of the Columbia a few miles above us ; and they 
drew a map of the country with a coal, on a mat. 
In order to satisfy himself as to the truth of this 
information, Captain Clarke persuaded one of the 
young Cushooks, by a present of a burning-glass, to 
accompany him to the river, in search of which he 
immediately set out with a canoe and seven of our 
men. After his departure other canoes arrived, 
bringing families of women and children, who con- 
firmed the accounts of scarcity above. One of these 
families, consisting of ten or twelve persons, en- 
camped near us, and behaved perfectly well. The 
hunters on our side of the river returned with the 
skins only of two deer, the animals themselves being 
too lean for use. 

"April 3. A considerable number of Indians 
crowded about us to-day, many of them from the 
upper part of the river. These poor wretches gave 
a dismal account of the scarcity prevailing there ; 
which, indeed, their appearance sufficiently proved, 
for they seemed almost starved, and greedily picksd 
the bones and refuse meat thrown away by us. 



DEVICE TO PROCURE PROVISIONS. 165 

" In the evening Captain Clarke returned from his 
fcxcursion. On setting out yesterday at half past 
eleven o'clock, he directed his course along the south 
side of the river, where, at the distance of eight 
miles, he passed a village of the Nechacohee tribe, 
belonging to the Eloot nation. The village itself 
was small, and, being situated behind Diamond Isl- 
and, was concealed from our view, as we had pass- 
ed both times along the northern shore. He pro- 
ceeded onward till three o'clock, when he landed 
near a single house, the only remains of a village of 
twenty-four straw huts. Along the shore were great 
numbers of small canoes for receiving wappatoo, 
having been left here by the Shahalas, who visit the 
place annually. The present inmates of the house 
were part of the Neerchokioo tribe of the same na- 
tion. On entering one of the apartments of the 
house. Captain Clarke offered several articles to the 
Indians in exchange for wappatoo ; but they appeared 
sullen and ill humoured, and refused to give him any. 
He therefore sat down by the fire opposite to the 
men, and, drawing a portfire match from his pocket, 
threw a small piece of it into the flames ; at the 
same time he took out his pocket compass, and by 
means of a magnet which happened to be in his ink- 
horn, made the needle turn round very briskly. The 
match immediately took fire and burned violently, 
on which the Indians, terrified at this strange exhi- 
bition, brought a quantity of wappatoo and laid it at 
his feet, begging him to put out the bad fire ; while 
an old woman continued to speak with great vehe- 
mence, as if praying, and imploring protection. Af- 
ter receiving the roots, Captain Clarke put up the 
compass, and, as the match went out of itself, tran- 
quillity was restored, though the women and chil- 
dren still sought refuge in their beds and behind the 
men. He now paid them for what he had used, and, 
after lighting his pipe and smoking with them, con- 
tinued down the river. He found that what we had 



166 LEWIS AND CLARKE^S EXPEDITION. 

called Image-Canoe Island consisted of three islands, 
the one in the middle concealing the opening be- 
tween the other two in such a way as to present to 
us on the opposite side of the river the appearance 
of a single island. At the lower point of the third, 
and thirteen miles below the last village, he entered 
the mouth of a large river, which was concealed by 
three small islands at its mouth from those who de- 
scend or ascend the Columbia. This river, which 
the Indians call Multnomah, from a nation of the 
same name residing near it on Wappaloo Island, en- 
ters the Columbia one hundred and forty miles from 
the mouth of the latter river, of which it may justly be 
considered as forming one fourth, though it had now 
fallen eighteen inches below its greatest annual 
height. From its entrance Mount Regnier bears 
nearly north, and Mount St. Helen north, with a very 
high humped mountain a little to the east of it, which 
seems to lie in the same chain with the conic-point- 
ed mountains before mentioned. Mount Hood bore 
due east, and Captain Clarke now discovered to the 
southeast a mountain which we had not yet seen, 
and to which he gave the name of Mount Jefferson. 
Like Mount St. Helen, its figure is a regular cone, 
covered with snow, and it is probably of equal height 
with that mountain, though, being more distant, so 
large a portion of it did not appear above the range 
of mountains which lie between these and the point 
where they were. Soon after entering the Multno- 
mah he was met by an old Indian descending the 
river alone in a canoe. After some conversation 
with him, the pilot informed Captain Clarke that 
this old man belonged to the Clackamos nation, who 
reside on a river forty miles up the Multnomah. 
The current of this latter river is as gentle as that 
of the Columbia, its surface is smooth and even, and 
it appears to possess water enough for the largest 
ship, since, on sounding with a line of five fathoms, 
he could find no bottom for nt least one third of the 



THE MULTNOMAH RIVER. 167 

width of the stream. At the distance of seven miles 
he passed a sluice or opening on the right, eighty 
yards wide, which separates Wappatoo Island from 
the continent by emptying itself into the inlet be- 
low. Three miles farther up he reached a large 
wooden house on the east side, where he intended 
to sleep ; but on entering the rooms he found such 
swarms of fleas, that he preferred lymg on the 
ground near by. The guide informed him that this 
house was the temporary residence of the Nemal- 
quinner tribe of the Cushook nation, who reside just 
below the falls of the Multnomah, but come down 
here occasionally to collect ivappatoo : it was thirty 
feet long and forty deep, built of broad boards, and 
covered with the bark of white cedar, the floor be- 
ing on a level with the surface of the earth, and the 
arrangement of the interior hke that of the houses 
near the seacoast. The former inhabitants had left 
their canoes, mats, bladders, train oil, baskets, bowls, 
and trenchers lying about the house at the mercy 
of every visiter ; a proof, indeed, of their respect for 
the property of each other, though we had had very 
conclusive evidence that the property of white men 
was not deemed equally sacred. The guide inform- 
ed him farther, that at a small distance above there 
were two bayous, on which were a number of small 
houses belonging to the Cushooks, but that they had 
then all gone up to the falls of the Multnomah for 
the purpose of fishing. 

" Early the next morning Captain Clarke proceeded 
up the river, which during the night had fallen about 
five inches. At the distance of two miles he came 
to the centre of a bend under the high lands on the 
right side, from which its course, as far as could be 
discerned, was to the east of southeast. At this 
place the Multnomah is five hundred yards wide, 
and for half that distance across a cord of five fath- 
oms would not reach the bottom. It appears to be 
washing away its banks, and has more sand-bars 
IT.— O 



168 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

and willow-points than the Columbia. Its regular, 
gentle current, the depth, smoothness, and uniformi- 
ty with which it rolls its vast body of water, proves 
that its supplies are at once distant and steady; nor 
judging from its appearance and course, is it rash to 
believe that the Multnomah and its tributary streams 
water the vast extent of country between the western 
mountains and those of the seacoast, as far, perhaps, 
as the Gulf of California. At about eleven o'clock 
he again reached the house of the Neerchokioos, in 
which he now found eight families ; but they were 
all so much alarmed at his presence, notwithstand- 
ing his visit yesterday, that he remained a very few 
minutes only. Soon after setting out he met five 
canoes, filled with the same number of famihes, be- 
longing to the Shahala nation. They were descend- 
ing the river in search of food, and seemed very de- 
sirous of coming alongside the boat; but, as there 
were twenty-one of them, and the guide said that 
these Shahalas, as well as their relations at the 
house we had just left, were all mischievous, bad 
men, they were not suffered to approach. 

" At three o'clock he halted for an hour at the 
Nechecolee house, where his guide resided. This 
large building was two hundred and twenty-six feet 
in front, entirely above ground, and might be con- 
sidered as a single house, since the whole was un- 
der one roof : otherwise it appeared more like a 
range of buildings, as it was divided into seven dis- 
tinct apartments, each thirty feet square, by means 
of broad poles set on end, and reaching from the 
floor to the roof. The apartments were separated 
from each other by a passage or alley four feet wide, 
extending through the whole depth of the house, 
and the only entrance to them was from these al- 
leys, through a small hole about twenty-two inche8 
Wide, and not more than three feet high. The roo) 
was formed of rafters and round poles laid on them 
longitudinally; the whole being covered with a dou 



ACCOUNT OF THE NECHECOLEES. 169 

ble row of the bark of the white cedar, extending 
from the top eighteen inches over the eaves, and se- 
cured as well as kept smooth by splinters of dried 
fir inserted through it at regular distances. In this 
manner the roof was made light, strong, and dura- 
ble. Near this house were the remains of several 
other large buildings, sunk in the ground, and con- 
structed like those we had seen at the Great Nar- 
rows of the Columbia, belonging to the Eloots, with 
whom these people claim affinity. In manners and 
dress these Nechecolees differ but little from the 
Quathlapotles, and others of this neighbourhood ; but 
their language is the same used by the Eloots, and 
though it has some words in common with the dia ' 
lects spoken here, yet its whole structure is obvi 
ously different. The men, too, are of larger stature, 
and both sexes better formed than among the na- 
tions below ; and the females are distinguished by 
wearing larger and longer robes (which are gener- 
ally of deerskin dressed in the hair) than those of 
the neighbouring tribes. In the house there were 
several old people of both sexes, who were treated 
with much respect, and still seemed healthy, though 
most of them were perfectly blind. On inquiring 
the cause of the decline of their village, an old man, 
the father of the guide, and a person of some dis- 
tinction, brought forward a woman very much pit- 
ted with the smallpox, and said that, when a girl, she 
was very near dying with the disorder which had 
left those marks, and that all the inhabitants of the 
houses now in ruins had fallen victims to the same 
disease. From the apparent age of the woman 
then, connected with what it was at the time of her 
illness. Captain Clarke judged that this sickness 
must have been about thirty years before, or about 
the period we had supposed that the smallpox prob- 
ably prevailed on the seacoast. 

" He then entered into a long conversation in re- 
gard to the adjacent country and its inhabitants, the 

Vol. II.— P 



170 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

old man replying to his questions with great intelli- 
gence ; and at the close he drew with his finger in 
the dust a sketch of the Multnomah, and of Wappa- 
too Island. This Captain Clarke copied and pre. 
served. He then purchased five dogs, and, taking 
leave of the Nechecolee village, returned to camp." 



CHAPTER IX. 

Description of Wappatoo Island, and of the Mode in which the 
r^atives gather the Wappatoo Root. — Character of the Soil 
and its Productions. — Numerous Tribes residing in its Vicin- 
ity. — Probability that they were all of the Multnomah Tribe 
originally, inferred from Similarity of Dress, Manners, Lan- 
guage, &c. — Description of their Dress, Weapons of War, and 
Mode of burying the Dead. — Description of another Village, 
called the Wahclellah Village.— Their Mode of Architecture. 
— Extraordinary Height of Beacon Rock.— Unfriendly Char- 
acter of the Indians at that Place. — The Party, alarmed for 
their Safety, resolve to inflict siimmary Vengeance, in case 
the W^ahclellah Tribe persist in their Outrages and Insults. — 
Interview with the Chief of that Tribe, and Confidence resto 
red. — Difficulty of drawing the Canoes over the Rapids. — 
Visited by a Party of the Yehugh Tribe. — Brief Notice of the 
Weocksockwillackum Tribe. — Curious Phenomenon observ- 
ed in the Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws 

" April 4. The hunters were still out in every di- 
rection. Those from the opposite side of the river 
returned with a bear and some venison ; but the flesh 
of six deer and an elk which they had killed was so 
meager and unfit for use that they had left it in the 
woods. Two other deer were brought in ; but, as 
the game was all poor, we despatched a large party 
to some low grounds on the south, six miles above 
us, to hunt there until our arrival. As usual, many 
Indians came to our camp, some of them descend- 
ing the river with their families, and others from 



MODE OF GATHERING WAPPATOO. 171 

below, with no object except to gratify their curi- 
osity. 

" The visit of Captain Clarke to the Multnomahs, 
and information obtained from other sources, now 
enabled us to give some account of the neighbouring 
countries and nations. The most important spot is 
Wappatoo Island, a large tract lying between the 
Multnomah and an arm of the Columbia, which we 
called Wappatoo Inlet, and separated from the main 
land by a sluice eighty yards wide, which at the dis- 
tance of seven miles up the Multnomah connects 
that river with the inlet. The island thus formed 
is about twenty miles long, and varies in breadth 
from five to ten miles. The land is high, and ex- 
tremely fertile ; and on most parts is covered with 
a heavy growth of cottonwood, ash, the large-leafed 
ash, and sweet willow, the black alder common on 
the coast having now disappeared. But the chief 
wealth of this island is found in the numerous ponds 
in the interior, which abound with tne common ar- 
rowhead {sagittaria sagittifolid), to the root of which 
is attached a bulb growing beneath it in the mud. 
This bulb, to which the Indians give the name of 
wappatoo, is their great article of food, and almost 
the staple article of commerce on the Columbia. It 
is never out of season ; so that at all times of the 
year the valley is frequented by the neighbouring 
Indians, who come to gather it. It is collected 
chiefly by the women, who employ for the purpose 
canoes from ten to fourteen feet in length, about 
two feet wide, nine inches deep, and tapering from 
the middle. They are sufficient to contain a single 
person and several bushels of roots, yet so very light 
that a woman can carry them with ease. She takes 
one of these canoes into a pond where the water is 
as high as the breast, and by means of her toes sep- 
arates this bulb from the roct, which, on being freed 
from the mud, rises immediately to the surface of 
the water, and is thrown into the canoe. In this 



172 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

manner these patient females will remain in the wa- 
ter for several hours, even ii\ the depth of vv'inter. 
This plant is found throughout the whole extent of 
the valley in which we then were, but does not grovi 
on the Cohimbia farther east. 

" This valley is bounded on the west by the mount- 
ainous country bordering the coast, from whicli it 
extends eastward thirty miles in a direct line, to the 
range of mountains crossing the Columbia above 
the Great Falls : its length from north to south we 
were unable to determine, but we believed it to ex- 
tend in this direction a great distance. It is, in fact, 
the only desirable situation for a settlement on the 
western side of the Rocky Mountains ; and, being 
naturally fertile, would, if properly cultivated, afford 
subsistence for forty or fifty thousand souls. The 
high lands are generally of a dark rich loam, not 
much encumbered with stones, and, though waving, 
by no means too steep for cultivation : a few miles 
from the river mey widen, at least on the north side, 
into rich, extensive prairies. The timber on them 
is abundant, and consists almost exclusively of the 
several species of fir already described, some of the 
trees growing to a great height. We measured a 
fallen tree of that species, and found that, including 
the stump of about six feet, it was three hundred 
and eighteen feet in length, though its diameter was 
only three feet. The dogwood is also abundant on 
the uplands : it differs from that of the United States 
in having a much smoother bark, and in being much 
larger, the trunk attaining a diameter of nearly two 
feet. There is some white cedar of a large size, 
but no pine of any kind. In the bottom lands are 
the Cottonwood, ash, large-leafed ash, and sweet 
willow ; interspersed with which are the pashequaw^ 
shanataque, and compound fern, of which the natives 
use the roots. The red flowering currant abounds 
on the uplands, while along the river bottoms grow 
luxuriantly the water-cress, strawberry, cinquefoil 



DIFFERENT TRIBES OF INDIANS. 173 

narrow dock, sandrush, and th(; flowering pea. 
There is also a species of the bear's-claw, but the 
large-leafed thorn had disappeared, nor did we see 
any longer the whortleberry, the shallun, nor any of 
the other evergreen shrubs bearing berries, except a 
species the leaf of which has a prickly margin. 

" Among the animals we observed the martin, 
small geese, the small speckled woodpecker with a 
white back, the blue-crested corvus, ravens, crows, 
eagles, vultures, and hawks. The mellow bug and 
long-legged spider, as well as the butterfly, blowing- 
fly, and tick, had already made their appearance ; but 
none of these are different from insects of the same 
sort in the United States. The moschetoes, too, had 
resumed their visits, but were not yet troublesome. 

" The nations who inhabit this fertile neighbour- 
hood are very numerous. The Wappatoo Inlet, 
three hundred yards wide, extends for ten or twelve 
miles to the south, as far as the hills, near which it 
receives the waters of a small creek, whose sources 
are not far from those of the Killamuck River. On 
that creek reside the Clackstar nation, a numer- 
ous people of twelve hundred souls, who subsist on 
fish and wappatoo, and trade, by means of the Kil- 
lamuck River, with the nation of that name on the 
seacoast. Lower down the inlet, towards the Co- 
lumbia, is the tribe called Cathlacumup. On the 
sluice which connects the inlet with the Multnomah 
are the Cathlanahquiah and Cathlacomatup tribes ; 
and on Wappatoo Island the Clannahminamuns and 
Clahnaquahs. Immediately opposite, near the Tow- 
ahnahiooks, are the Quathlapotles, and higher up, on 
the side of the Columbia, the Shotos. All these 
tribes, as well as the Cathlahaws, who live some- 
what lower on the river, and have an old village on 
Deer Island, may be considered as parts of the great 
Multnomah nation, which has its principal residence 
on Wappatoo Island, near the mouth of the large 
river to which they give their name. Forty miles 



174 LEWIS A2iD Clarke's expedition. 

above its junction with the Columbia, this river re- 
ceives the v/aters of the Clackamos, a river which 
may be traced through a woody and fertile country 
to its sources in Mount Jefferson, almost to the foot 
of which it is navigable for canoes. A nation of the 
same name resides in eleven villages along its bor- 
ders: they live chiefly on fish and roots, which 
abound in the Clackamos and along its banks, though 
they sometimes descend to the Columbia to gather 
wappatoo, where they cannot be distinguished in 
dress, manners, or language from the tribes of the 
Multnomahs. Two days' journey from the Colum- 
bia, or about twenty miles beyond the entrance of 
the Clackamos, are the Falls of the Multnomah. At 
this place reside the Cushooks and Chahcowahs, 
two tribes that are attracted there by the fish, and 
by the convenience of trading across the mountains, 
and down the Killamuck River, with the Killamucks, 
from whom they procure train oil. These falls are 
occasioned by a high range of mountains, beyond 
which the country stretches into a vast level plain 
wholly destitute of timber. As far as the Indians 
with whom we conversed had ever penetrated' that 
country, it seems to be inhabited by a nation called 
Calahpoewah, a very numerous people, whose vil- 
lages, nearly forty in number, are scattered along 
each side of the Multnomah, which furnishes them 
with their chief subsistence, viz., fish, and the roots 
along its banks. 

" AH the tribes in the neighbourhood of Wappatoo 
Island we considered as Multnomahs ; not because 
they are in any degree subordinate to that nation, 
but they all seem to regard it as being the most pow- 
erful. There was no distinguished chief except the 
one at the head of the Multnomahs ; and they are, 
moreover, allied by similarity of dress and manners, 
and of houses and language, which, much more than 
the feeble restraints of Indian government, contrib- 
ute to make one people. These circumstances sep* 



INDIANS OF THE COLUMBIA VALLEY. 175 

arate them also from the nations lower down the 
river. The Clatsops, Chinnooks, VVahkiacums, and 
Cathlamahs understand each other perfectly : their 
language varies, however, in some respects from 
that of the Skilloots ; but, on reaching the Multno- 
mah Indians, we found that, although many words 
were the same, while a great number differed only 
in the mode of accenting them from those employed 
by the Indians near the mouth of the Columbia, yet 
there was, in fact, a very sensible distinction. The 
natives of the valley are of larger stature, and rather 
better shaped than those on the seacoast : their ap- 
pearance, too, is generally healthy, though they are 
afflicted with the common disease of the Columbia, 
soreness of the eyes." * * * 

" The dress of the men does not differ from that 
used below ; they are chiefly distinguished by a pas- 
sion for large brass buttons, which they will fix on a 
sailor's jacket, whenever they are so fortunate as to 
obtain one, without the slightest regard to arrange- 
ment. The women, also, wear the short robe al- 
ready described; but their hair is most commonly 
braided into two tresses, falhng over each ear in front 
of the body ; and instead of the tissue of bark, they 
employ a piece of leather in the shape of a pocket 
handkerchief, tied round the loins." * * * 

" The houses are generally on a level with the 
ground, though some are sunk to the depth of two 
or three feet, and, like those near the coast, are 
adorned, or rather disfigured, with carvings or paint- 
ings on the posts, doors, and beds. They have no 
peculiar weapon except a kind of broadsword made 
of iron, from three to four feet long, the blade about 
four inches wide, and very thin and sharp at both its 
edges, as well as at the point. They have also 
bludgeons of wood of the same form ; and both kinds 
generally hang at the head of their beds : these are 
formidable weapons. Like the natives of the sea- 
coast, they are also very fond of cold, lioi, ;uid vapour 



176 LEWIS AND CLARKE S rrPI' *. ON 

baths, which are used at all seasons, f': the p\ ose 
of health as well as pleasure. 

" The mode of burying the dead in cinoes is not 
practised by the natives here. The place of deposite 
is a vault formed of boards, slanting like the roof of 
a house, from a pole supported by two forks. Un- 
der this the dead are placed horizontally on boards, 
on the surface of the earth, and carefully covered 
with mats. The bodies are here laid to the height 
of three or four upon each other, and the different 
articles which were most esteemed by the deceased 
are placed by their side ; their canoes themselves 
being sometimes taken to pieces to strengthen the 
vault. 

" All these people trade in anchovies and sturgeon, 
but chiefly m wappatoo; to obtain which, the inhabi- 
tants both above and below come at all seasons, the 
latter bringing, in turn, beads, cloth, and various oth- 
er articles procured from the Europeans. 

" April 5. We dried our meat as well as the cloudy 
weather would permit. In the course of the chase yes- 
terday, one of our men who had killed the bear found 
the den of another with three cubs in it. He return- 
ed to it to-day in hope of finding the dam, but, being 
disappointed in this, he brought the cubs ; and on 
this occasion Drewyer, our most experienced hunts- 
man, assured us that he had never known a single 
instance where a female bear had been once disturb- 
ed by the hunter and obliged to leave her young, 
that she returned to them again. The young bears 
we sold for wappatoo to some of the numerous In- 
dians who visited us in parties during the day, and 
who behaved very well. Having prepared our stock 
of dried meat, we set out the next morning.'" * * * 

They proceeded, however, but a few miles the next 
day, as they were obliged to wait and collect their 
hunters ; nor did they start again the two following 
days, being employed in drying some additional meat 
that was brought in on the 7th, and on the 8th tha 
weather would not permit their leaving. 



BEACON ROCK. A77 

" April 9. The wind having moderated, we reload- 
ed the canoes, and set out by s\jven o'clock. We 
stopped to take up two of our hunters who had left 
us yesterday, but had been unsuccessful in the chase, 
and then proceeded to the Wahclellah village, situ- 
ated on the north side of the river, about a mile be- 
low Beacon Rock. During the whole of the route 
from our camp we passed along under high, steep, 
and rocky sides of mountains, which here close in on 
each side of the river, forming stupendous precipices 
covered with fir and white cedar. Down these 
heights descend the most beautiful cascades, one of 
which, formed by a large creek, falls over a perpen- 
dicular rock three hundred feet above the water, 
while other smaller streams precipitate themselves 
from a still greater elevation, and, partially evapora- 
ting in a mi'st, collect again, and make a second de- 
scent before they reach the bottom of the rocks. 
We stopped to breakfast at this village ; and here 
we found the tomahawk which had been stolen from 
us on the 4th of last November, They assured us 
that they had bought it of the Indians below ; but, as 
the latter had already informed us that the Wah- 
clellahs had such an article which they had stolen, 
we made no difficulty about retaking our property." 
* * * " After purchasing, with much difficulty, a few 
dogs and some wappatoo from the Wahclellahs, we 
left them at two o'clock, and, passing along the Bea- 
con Rock, reached in two hours the Clahclellah vil- 
lage. 

" This rock, which we now observed more accu- 
rately than we had done in our descent, stands on 
the north side of the river, insulated from the hills. 
The northern side has a partial growth of fir or pine. 
To the south it rises in an unbroken precipice to the 
height of seven hundred feet, where it terminates in 
a sharp point, and may be seen at the distance of 
twenty miles below. This rock may be considered 
as the point where tide-wa.er commences • though 



178 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 

the influence of the tide is perceptible here in au* 
tumn only, at which time the river is low. What 
the precise difference is at those seasons, we could 
not determine ; but, on examining a rock uhich we 
had lately passed, and comparing its appearance 
with what we had observed last November, we 
judged the flood of this spring to be twelve feet 
above the height of the river at that time. From 
Beacon Rock as low down as the marshy islands, 
the general width of the river is from one to two 
miles, though in many places it is greater. On 
landing at the village of the Clahclellahs, we found 
them busy in erecting their huts, which seemed to 
be of a temporary kind only, so that most probably 
they do not remain longer than the salmon season. 
Like their countrymen whom we had just left, these 
people w^ere sulky- and ill humoured, and ^o much 
on the alert to pilfer that we were obhged to keep 
them at a distance from our baggage. As our large 
canoes could not ascend the rapids on thp north 
side, we passed to the opposite shore, and entered 
the narrow channel which separates it from Brant 
Island. The weather was very cold and rainy, and 
the wind so high that we were afraid to attempt the 
rapids the same evening, and therefore, finding a 
safe harbour, we encamped for the night." * * * 

" April 10. Early in the morning we dropped down 
the channel to the lower end of Brant Island, and 
then drew our boats up the rapid. At the distance 
of a quarter of a mile we crossed over to a village 
of Clahclellahs, consisting of six houses, on the op- 
posite side. The river is here about four hundred 
yards wide, and the current so rapid that, although 
we employed five oars for each canoe, we were 
3)orne down a considerable distance. While we 
were at breakfast, one of the Indians offered us 
two sheepskins for sale, one of which was the skin 
of a full-grown animal, and was as large a» that of a 
common deer; the second was smaller. and the skin 



MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 179 

of the head, with the horns on it, had been made 
into a cap, and was highly prized by the owner. 
He, however, sold the cap to us for a knife, and the 
rest of the skin for those of two elk ; but, observing 
our anxiety to purchase the other skin, they would 
not accept the same price for it, and, as we hoped 
to procure more in the neighbourhood, we would 
not offer a greater. The horns of the animal were 
black, smooth, and erect, and rise from the middle 
of the forehead, a little above the eyes, in a cylin- 
drical form, to the height of four inches, where they 
are pointed. The Clahclellahs informed us that 
these sheep were very abundant on the heights and 
among the cliffs of the adjacent mountains, and that 
these two had been lately killed out of a herd of 
thirty-six, at no great distance from the village. 
We were soon joinod by our hunters, with three 
black-tailed fallow (-eer, and, having purchased a 
few white salmon, ])roceeded on our route. The 
south side of the river is impassable, and the rapid- 
ity of the current, as well as the large rocks along 
the shore, renders the navigation of even the north 
side extremely difficult. During the greater part 
of the day it was necessary to draw them along the 
shore; and, as we had only a single towrope that 
was strong enough, we were obliged to bring them 
one after the other. In this tedious and laborious 
manner we at lengih reached the portage on the 
north side, and carried our baggage to the top of a 
hill about two hundred paces distant, w^here we en- 
camped for the night. The canoes were drawn on 
shore and secured, but one of them having got 
loose, drifted down to the last village, the inhabi- 
tants of which brought her back to us, an instance 
of honesty which we rewarded with a present of two 
knives. It rained all night, and the next morning, 

"April 11, so that the tents and the skins which 
covered the baggage were wet. We therefore de- 
termined to take the canoes over the portage first. 



i80 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

in hopes that by the afternoon the rain would cease, 
and we might carry our baggage across without in- 
jury. The work was immediately begun by almost 
the whole party, who in the course of the day dragged 
four of the canoes to the head of the rapids with 
great difficulty and labour, A guard, consisting of 
one sick man and three who had been lamed by ac- 
cidents, remained with Captain Lewis to protect 
the baggage. This precaution was absolutely neces- 
sary to save it from the depredations of the Wah- 
clellahs, who, we discovered, were great thieves, not- 
withstanding their apparent honesty in restoring our 
boat : indeed, so arrogant and intrusive did they be- 
come, that nothing but our numbers, we were con 
vinced, preserved us from attack. They crowded 
about us while we were taking up the boats, and one 
of them had the insolence to throw stones down the 
bank at two of our men. We now found it neces- 
sary to depart from our uniformly mild and pacific 
course of conduct. On returning to the head of the 
portage, a large number of them met our men, and 
seemed very ill disposed. Shields had stopped to 
purchase a dog, and, being separated from the rest 
of the party, two Indians pushed him out of the road, 
and attempted to take the dog from him. He had 
no weapon but a long knife, with which he immedi- 
ately attacked them both, hoping to despatch them 
before they had time to draw their arrows ; but, as 
soon as they saw his design, they fled into the woods. 
Soon afterward we were told by an Indian who 
spoke Clatsop, which language we had learned du- 
ring the winter, that the Wahclellahs had carried off 
Captain Lewis's dog to their village below. Three 
men, well armed, were instantly sent in pursuit of 
them, with orders to fire if there was the slightest 
resistance or hesitation. At the distance of two 
miles they came within sight of the thieves, who, 
finding themselves pursued, left the dog and made 
off. We now ordered all the Indians out of ou/ 



VISITED BY . oAHCLELLAH CHIEF. 18J 

camp, and signified to v.. em that, if any one of them 
stole our baggage or insulted our men, he would be 
instantly shot ; a resolution ^>hlch we were deter- 
mined to enforce, as it was now our only means of 
safety. We were visited durii.g the day by a chief 
of the Clahclellahs, who seemed mortified at the treat- 
ment we had received, and told us that the persons 
at the head of these outrages were two very bad 
men who belonged to the Wahclellahs, but that the 
nation itself did not by any means wish to displease 
us. This chief seemed very well disposed, and we 
had every reason to believe was much respected by 
the neighbouring Indians. We therefore gave him 
a small medal, and showed him all the attention in 
our powei, with which he appeared to be very much 
gratified ; and we trusted that his interposition would 
prevent the necessity of our resorting to force 
against his countrymen. 

" Many Indians from the villages above passed us 
in the course of the day, on their return from trading 
with the natives of the valley, and among others we 
recognised an Eloot, who, with ten or twelve of his 
nation, were on their way home to the Long Nar- 
rows of the Columbia. These people do not, as we 
are compelled to do, drag their canoes up the rapids, 
but leave them at the head as they descend, and, car- 
rying their goods across the portage, hire or borrow 
others from the people below. When the traflSc is 
over, they return to the foot of the rapids, where 
they leave these boats, and resume their own at the 
head of the portage. The labour of carrying the 
goods across is equally shared by the men and 
women ; and we were struck by the contrast between 
the decent conduct of all the natives from above, 
and the profligacy and ill manners of the Wahclel- 
lahs. About three quarters of a mile below our 
camp was a burial-ground, which seemed common 
to the Wahclellahs, Clahclellahs, and Yehhuhs. It 



182 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

consisted of eight sepulchres on the north bank of 
the river." 

In dragging their remaining pirogue up the rapids 
the next day, they unfortunately lost her, but suc- 
ceeded in transporting all their baggage to the head 
of the portage by five o'clock in the afternoon ; and 
the v^^eather being cold and rainy, they concluded to 
remain there during the nigl^. " The portage," says 
the Journal, " was two thousand eight hundred yards, 
along a narrow road, at all times rough, and then ren- 
dered slippery by the rain. About halfway was an old 
village, which the Clahclellah chief informed us was 
the occasional residence of his tribe. These hous- 
es were uncommonly large ; one of them measuring 
one hundred and sixty by forty feet, the frames be- 
ing constructed in the usual manner, except that 
they were double, so as to appear like one house 
within another. The floors were on a level with 
the ground, and the roofs had been taken down, and 
sunk in a pond behind the village. We now found 
that our firmness the day before had made the In- 
dians much more respectful : they did not crowd 
about us in such numbers, and behaved with much 
more propriety. 

" Among those who visited u? here were about 
twenty of the Yehhuhs, a tribe of Shahalas, whom 
we had found on the north side of the river, imme- 
diately above the rapids, but who had now emigra- 
ted to the opposite shore, where they generally take 
salmon. Like their relations, the Wahclellahs, they 
had taken their houses with them, so that only one 
was now standing where the old village was." * * * 

" There is but little difference in appearance be- 
tween the Yehhuhs, Wahclellahs, Clahclellahs, and 
Neerchokioos, who compose the Shahala nation. 
On comparing the vocabulary of the Wahclellahs 
with that of the Chinnooks, we found that the names 
for numbers were precisely the same, though the 
other parts of the language were essentially differ- 



THE YEHHUHS. 183 

ent. The women of all these tribes braid their 
hair, pierce the nose, and some of them have lines 
of dots reaching from the ankle as high as the mid- 
dle of the leg. These Yehhuhs behaved with great 
propriety, and condemned the treatment we had re- 
ceived from the Wahclellahs. We purchased from 
one of them the skin of a sheep killed near this 
place, for which we gave in exchange the skins of a 
deer and an elk. These animals, he told us, usually 
frequent the rocky parts of the mountains, where 
they are found in great numbers. The bighorn is 
also an inhabitant of these mountains, and the na- 
tives have several robes made of their skins." * * * 

In ascending the river the next day, they found 
that their boats were too heavily laden, in conse- 
quence of the loss of their pirogue ;.but they suc- 
ceeded in purchasing two additional canoes at a 
Yehhuh village, the inhabitants of which were very 
friendly. They advanced about six miles beyond 
Cruzatte's River, where they encamped, and, being 
joined by all their hunters the next morning, resu- 
med their journey. " At one o'clock," continues the 
Journal, " we halted for dinner at a large village, sit- 
uated in a narrow bottom just above the entrance 
of Canoe Creek. The houses were detached from 
each other so as to occupy an extent of several 
miles, though only twenty in number. Those which 
were inhabited were on the surface of the ground, 
and built in the same shape as those near the Rap- 
ids ; but there were others not occupied, which were 
completely under ground. They were sunk about 
'iight feet deep, and covered with strong timbers, 
and several feet of earth in a conical form. On de- 
scending by means of a ladder through a hole at the 
top, which answered the double purpose of a door 
and a chimney, we found that the house consisted 
of a single room, nearly circular, and about sixteen 
feet in diameter. 

" The inhabitants, who called themselves Weock- 
II.-P 



184 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

sockwillacums, differed but little from those near 
the Rapids, the chief distinction in dress being a 
few leggins and moccasins resembling those worn 
by the Chopunnish. These people had ten or 
twelve very good horses, which were the first we 
had seen since leaving this neighbourhood in the 
preceding autumn. The country below is, indeed, 
of such a nature as to prevent the use of this ani- 
mal, except in the Columbia Valley, and there they 
would be of no great service, as the inhabitants re- 
side chiefly on the river side, and the country is too 
thickly wooded to suffer them to hunt on horseback. 
Most of these horses, they informed us, had been 
taken in a warlike excursion lately made against the 
Towahnahiooks, a part of the Snake nation living on 
the upper part of the Multnomah, to the southeast 
of this place. Their language is the same with that 
of the Chilluckittequaws. They seemed inclined to 
be very civil, and gave us in traffic some roots, chap- 
pelell, filberts, dried berries, and five dogs. 

" After dinner we proceeded, and, passing at the 
distance of six miles high cliffs on the left, encamp- 
ed at the mouth of a small run on the same side. A 
little above us was a village, consisting of about one 
hundred fighting men, of a tribe called Smackshops, 
many of whom passed the evening with us. They 
did not differ in any respect from the inhabitants of 
the village below." * * * 

Soon after starting the next morning they came to 
Sepulchre Rock. " This rock," says the Journal, 
" stands near the middle of the river, and contains 
about two acres of ground above high water. Over 
this surface are scattered thirteen vaults, construct 
ed like those below the Rapids, and some of them 
more than half filled with dead bodies. After satis 
fying our curiosity with these venerable remains 
we returned to the northern shore, and proceeded to 
a village at the distance of four miles. On landing, 
we found that the inhabitants belonged to the samt 



COUNTRY ALONG THE COLUMBIA. 185 

nation as those we had just left, and as they had 
horses, we made an attempt to purchase some of 
them ; but, with all our dexterity in exhibiting our 
wares, we could not succeed, as we had none of the 
only article which they seemed desirous of procu- 
ring, a sort of war-hatchet called by the Northwest 
traders an eye-dog. We therefore purchased two 
dogs, and, taking leave of these Weocksockwilla- 
cums, proceeded to another of their villages, just 
below the entrance of Cataract River. Here, too, 
we tried ir vain to purchase horses ; nor did we 
meet with better success at the two villages of Chil- 
luckittequaws, a few miles farther up the river. At 
three in the afternoon we came to the mouth of 
Quinette Creek, wfiich we ascended a short distance, 
and encamped for the night at the spot we had call- 
ed Rock Fort. Here we were soon visited by some 
of the people from the Great Narrows and Falls ; 
and on our expressing a wish to purchase horses, 
they agreed to meet us the next day on the north 
side of the river, where they would open a trade. 
They then returned to their villages to collect the 
horses, and in the morning, 

" April 16, Captain Clarke crossed with nine men, 
and a large part of the merchandise, to purchase, if 
it were possible, twelve horses to transport our bag- 
gage, and some pounded fish, as a reserve on the 
passage across the Rocky Mountains. The rest of 
the men were employed in hunting and preparing 
saddles. 

" From the Rapids to this place, and, indeed, as 
far as the commencement of the Narrows, the Co- 
lumbia is from half a mile to three quarters in width, 
and possesses scarcely any current : its bed consists 
principally of rock, except at the entrance of Labiche 
River, which takes its rise in Mount Hood, from 
which, like Quicksand River, it brings down vast 
quantities of sand. Along the whole course of the 
Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws, 



186 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the trunks of many large pine-trees are seen stand- 
ing erect in water, which was now thirty feet aeep, 
and is never less than ten. These trees could never 
have grown in their present state, for they are all 
very much rotted, and none of them vegetate ; so 
that the only reasonable account which crui be given 
of this phenomena is, that at some period, which the 
appearance of the trees induced us to fix within 
twenty years, the rocks from the hill sides have ob- 
structed the narrow pass at the Rapids, and caused 
the river to spread through the woods. The mount- 
ains which border it as far as Sepulchre Rock are 
high and broken, and its romantic views are occa- 
sionally enlivened by beautiful cascades rushing 
from the heights, and forming a striking contrast 
with the firs, cedars, and pines which darken their 
sides. From Sepulchre Rock, where the low coun- 
try begins, the long-leafed pine is the almost exclu- 
sive growth of timber ; but our camp was the last 
spot where a single tree is to be seen on the wide 
plain, spreading beyond it to the foot of the Rocky 
Mountains. This plain is, however, covered with a 
rich verdure of grass and herbs, some inches in 
height, which forms a delightful and exhilarating 
prospect, after being confined to the mountains and 
thick forests on the seacoast. The climate, too, 
though we were only on the border of the plain, was 
very different here from what we had lately experi- 
enced : the air was drier and more pure, and the 
ground as free from moisture as if there had been 
no rain for the last ten days. Around this place 
were many esculent plants used by the Indians, 
among which was a currant now in bloom, with a 
yellow blossom, like that of the yellow currant of 
the Missouri, from which, however, it differs specif 
ically. There was also a species of hyacinth grow 
ing in the plains, which presented at this time i^ 
pretty flower of a pale blue colour, the bulb of whicl* 
is boiled, or baked, or dried in the sun, and eaten by 



<VANT OF SUCCESS IN PURCHASING HORSES. 187 

the Indians. The bulb of the present year was 
white, flat in shape, and not quite solid : it overlaid 
and pressed closely that of the last year, which, 
though much thinner and withered, was equally 
wide, and sent forth from its sides a number of small 
radicles." * * * 

" Captain Clarke, meanwhile, had been unsuccess- 
fully endeavouring to purchase horses ; but the In- 
dians promised to trade with him if he would go up 
to the Skilloot village, above the Long Narrows. 
He therefore sent over to us for more merchandise, 
and then accompanied them in the evening to that 
place, where he passed the night. 

"April 17. Captain Clarke sent to inform us that 
he was still unable to purchase any horses, but in- 
tended going as far as the Eneeshur village, whence 
he would return to meet us the next day at the Skil- 
loot village. In the evening, the principal chief of 
the Chilluckittequaws came to see us, accompanied 
by twelve of his nation, and, hearing that we wanted 
horses, promised to meet us at the Narrows with 
some for sale." 



188 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 



CHAPTER X. 

Captain Clarke procures four Horses for the Transportation ol 
the Baggage. — Some farther Account of the Skilloot Tribe. — 
Their Joy at the first Appearance of Sahnon in the Columbia. 
— Their thievish Propensities. — The Party arrive at the Vil- 
lage of the Eneeshurs, where the Natives are found alike un 
friendly. — The Party now provided with Horses. — Prevented 
from the Exercise of Hostility against this nation by a friendly 
Adjustment. — The Scarcity of Timber so great that they are 
compelled to buy Wood to cook their Provisions. — Arrive at 
the Wahhowpum Village. — Dance of the Natives. — Having ob- 
tained their Complement of Horses, the Party proceed by Land. 
— Arrive at the Pishquitpah Village, and some Account of that 
People. — Frank and hospitable Conduct of the WoUawoUahs, 
— Their Mode of Dancing described. — Their Mode of making 
Fish-wears. — Their amiable Character. 

Setting out early on the morning of the 18th, at 
the distance of nine miles they reached the Skilloot 
village, at the foot of the Long Narrows. Here they 
found Captain Clarke, who had succeeded in pur- 
chasing four horses, though at double the price that 
had been paid the Shoshonees. Owing to the great 
quantity of water in the river, the passage of the 
Long Narrows was wholly impracticable for boats, 
so that they cut up their two pirogues to be used for 
fuel. 

"April 19. All the party," proceeds the Journal, 
" were employed in carrying the merchandise over 
the portage. This we accomplished with the aid of 
our four horses by three o'clock in the afternoon, 
when we formed our camp a little above the Skilloot 
settlement. Since we left them in the autumn they 
had removed their village a few hundred yards lower 
down the river, and exchanged the cellars in which 
we then found them for more pleasant dwellings on 
the surface of the ground. These were formed by 



FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE SALMON. 189 

Sticks covered with mats and straw, and so large 
that each was the residence of several families." * * 

" The whole village was filled with rejoicing at 
having caught a salmon, which was considered as 
the harbinger of vast quantities that would arrive in 
a few days. In the behef that it would hasten their 
coming, the Indians, according to their custom, 
dressed the fish and cut it into small pieces, one of 
which was given to each child in the village ; and in 
the good humour excited by this occurrence, they 
parted, though reluctantly, with four other horses, 
for which we gave them two kettles, reserving only 
a single small one for a mess of eight men. Un- 
luckily, however, we lost one of the horses by the 
negligence of the person to whose charge he was 
committed." * * * 

" April 20. As it was so much for our interest to 
preserve the good-will of these people, we passed 
over several small thefts which they had commit- 
ted ; but this morning we learned that six toma- 
hawks and a knife had been stolen during the night. 
We addressed ourselves to the chief, who seemed 
angry with his people, and made an harangue to 
them, but we did not recover the articles, and soon 
afterward two of our spoons were missing. We 
therefore ordered them all from our camp, threaten- 
ing to beat severely any one detected in purloining. 
This harshness irritated them so much that they 
left us in ill humour, and we therefore kept on our 
guard against any insult. Besides this knavery, 
their faithlessness was intolerable : frequently, after 
receiving goods in exchange for a horse, they would 
return in a few hours and insist on revoking the 
bargain, or that they should receive some additional 
value. We discovered, too, that the horse missed 
yesterday had been gambled away by the fellow 
from whom we had purchased him to a man of a 
different nation, who had carried him off. We suc- 
ceeded in buying two more horses, two dogs, and 



190 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

some chappelell, and also exchanged a couple of elk- 
skins for a gun belonging to the chief." * * * " One 
of the canoes, for which the Indians would give us 
very little, was cut up for fuel ; two others, together 
with some elkskins and pieces of old iron, we bar- 
tered for beads, and the remaining two small ones 
were despatched early next morning, 

"April 21, with all the baggage which could not 
be carried on horseback. We had intended setting 
out at the same time, but one of our horses broke 
loose during the night, and we were under the ne- 
cessity of sending several men in search of him. In 
the mean time, the Indians, who were always on the 
alert, stole a tomahawk, which we could not recov- 
er, though several of them were searched ; and an- 
other fellow was detected in carrying off a piece of 
iron, and kicked out of camp ; upon which Captain 
Lewis, addressing them, told them he was not afraid 
to fight them, for, if he chose, he could easily put 
them all to death, and burn their village, but that he 
did not wish to treat them ill if they kept from steal- 
ing ; and that, although, if he could discover who had 
the tomahawks, he would take away their horses, yet 
he would rather lose the property altogether than 
take the horse of an innocent man. The chiefs 
were present at this harangue, hung their heads, and 
made no reply. 

" At ten o'clock the men returned with the horse, 
and soon after an Indian, who had promised to go 
with us as far as the Chopunnish, came with two 
horses, one of which he politely offered to assist in 
carrying our baggage. We therefore loaded nine 
horses, and, giving the tenth to Bratton, who was 
still too sick to walk, at about ten o'clock left the 
village of these disagreeable people. At one o'clock 
we arrived at the village of the Eneeshurs, where 
we found Captain Clarke, who had been altogether 
unsuccessful in his attempts to purchase horses, the 
Eneeshurs being quite as unfriendly as the Skilloots. 



CHARACTER OF THE ENEESHURS. 191 

Fortunately, however, the fellow who had sold us a 
horse, and afterward lost him in gambling, belonged 
to this village, and we insisted on having the kettle 
and knife which had been given to him for his horse, 
or that he should furnish us with one of equal value. 
He preferred the latter, and brought us a very good 
horse. Being joined here by the canoes and bag- 
gage, we halted half a mile above the town, and 
dined on the flesh of dogs, after which we proceeded 
about four miles farther, and encamped at a village 
of Eneeshurs, consisting of nine mat huts, a little 
below the mouth of the Towahnahiooks. We ob- 
tained from these people a couple of dogs and a 
small quantity of fuel, for which we were obliged to 
give a higher price than usual. We also bought a 
horse, with his back so much injured that he could 
scarcely be of much service to us ; but the price 
was only some trifling articles, which in the United 
States would not cost above a dollar and a quarter. 
The dress, manners, and language of the Eneeshurs 
Jiff'er in no respect from those of the Skilloots. 
Like them, too, they are inhospitable and parsimo- 
nious, faithless to their engagements, and in the 
midst of poverty and filth retained a degree of pride 
and arrogance which rendered our numbers our only 
protection against insult, pillage, and even murder. 
We were, however, assured by our Chopunnish 
guide, who appeared to be a very sincere, honest 
Indian, that the nations above would treat us with 
much greater hospitality. 

" April 22. Two of our horses broke loose in the 
night, and strayed to some distance, so that we 
were not able to retake them and begin our march 
before seven ox-lock. We had just reached the top 
of a hill near the village, when the load of one of the 
horses turned, and the animal, taking fright at a 
robe which still adhered to him, ran furiously to- 
wards the village : just as he came there the robe 
fell, and an Indian hid it in his hut. Two men went 



192 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

back after the horse, which they soon caught, but 
the robe was still missing, and the Indians denied 
having seen it. These repeated acts of knavery 
had quite exhausted our patience, and Captain Lewis 
therefore set out for the village, determined to makt 
them deliver up the robe, or to burn their houses tc 
the ground. This disagreeable retaliation was, how 
ever, rendered unnecessary, for on his way he met 
one of our men, who had found the robe in one of 
the huts, hid behind some baggage. We resumed 
our route, and soon after halted on a hill, from the 
top of which we had a commanding view of the 
range of mountains in which Mount Hood stands, 
and which continued south as far as the eye could 
reach, their summits being covered with snow. 
Mount Hood itself bore south 30° west, and the 
snowy summit of Mount Jefferson south 10° west. 
Towards the south, and at no great distance, we 
discerned some woody country, and opposite to this 
point of view is the mouth of the Towahnahiooks." 
* * * " From this place we proceeded with our bag- 
gage in the centre, escorted both before and behind 
by such of the men as had not the care of the horses, 
and, having crossed a plain eight miles in extent, 
reached a village of the Eneeshurs, consisting of 
six houses. Here we bought some dogs, on which 
we dined near the village, and, having purchased an- 
other horse, went up the river four miles farther, to 
another Eneeshur village of seven mat houses." * * * 
Being informed by their guide .that they would not 
be able to reach the next village the same evening, 
they concluded to halt where they were. Here 
they purchased a horse and some dogs ; but such 
was the scarcity of fuel, that they were obliged to 
buy what was required to cook their supper. 

The party were detained for a considerable time 
the next morning in consequence of two of their 
horses having strayed during the night. One they 
recovered, but the other they could not find, and 



INTERVIEW WITH THE WAHHOWPUMS. 193 

were obliged to start without him. "After march- 
ing' twelve miles," says the Journal, " we came to a 
village near the Rock Rapid, at the mouth of a large 
creek which we had not observed in descending. It 
consisted of twelve temporary huts of mats, and 
was inhabited by a tribe called Wahhowpum, who 
speak a language very similar to that of the Chopun- 
nish, whom they resemble also in dress, both sexes 
being clad in robes and shirts, as well as leggins and 
moccasins. These people seemed much pleased to 
see us, and readily gave us four dogs, and some chap- 
pelell and wood, in exchange for a few small articles, 
such as pewter buttons, strips of tin, iron, and brass, 
and some twisted wire, which we had previously 
prepared for our journey across the plains. They, 
as well as others of the same tribe, living in five 
huts a little below, were waiting the return of the 
salmon. We also found a Chopunnish returning 
home with his family and a dozen young horses, 
some of which he wanted us to hire ; but this we 
declined, as by doing so we should be obliged to 
maintain him and his family on the route. After 
arranging our camp, we assembled all the warriors, 
and, having smoked with them, the violins were pro- 
duced, and some of the men danced. This civility 
was returned by the Indians with a kind of dance 
that we had not before seen. The spectators form- 
ed a circle about the dancers, who, with their robes 
drawn tightly round the shoulders, and divided into 
parties of five or six men, kept crossing in a line 
from one side of the circle to the other. Both the 
performers and spectators sang, and, after proceed- 
ing in this way for some time, the latter joined in, 
and the whole concluded with a promiscuous dance 
and song. This being finished, the natives retired 
at our request, after promising to barter horses with 
us in the morning. The river was by no means so 
difficult o^ oassage, nor obstructed by so many rap- 



194 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ids, as it had been in the autumn, the water being 
sufficiently high to cover the rocks in its bed. 

" April 24. We began early to look for our hor- 
ses, but they were not collected before one o'clock. 
In the mean time we prepared saddles for three new 
liorses which we had purchased from the Wahhow- 
pums, and agreed to hire three more from the Cho- 
punnish Indian, who was to accompany us with his 
family. The natives had also promised to take our 
canoes in exchange for horses ; but, when they 
found that we were resolved on travelling by land, 
they refused giving us anything, in hopes that we 
would be forced to leave them. Disgusted at this 
conduct, we determined rather to cut them in pie- 
ces than suffer these people to possess them, and 
actually began to split them up, when they consent- 
ed to give us several strands of beads for each canoe. 
We had now a sufficient number of horses to carry 
our baggage, and therefore proceeded wholly by 
land. At two o'clock we set out, and, passing be- 
tween the hills and the northern shore of the river, 
had a difficult and fatiguing march over a road al- 
ternately sandy and rocky. At the distance of four 
miles we came to four huts of the Meteowwee tribe ; 
two miles farther, to the same number of huts; and, 
after making twelve miles from our last night's 
camp, we halted at a larger village of five huts of 
Meteowwees." * * * 

As they had passed along they met several pai- 
ties of the natives, who were distant and reserved, 
and, though respectful, would hold no conversatiun 
with them. They found the nights cold, though il 
was warm in the day, and what rendered them ex- 
ceedingly uncomfortable was the scarcity of wood. 

"April 25. We collected our horses," continues 
the Journal, " and proceeded eleven miles to a large 
village of fifty-one mat houses, where we purchased 
some wood and a few dogs, on which we made oui 
dinner. This village contained about seven hundred 



ACCOUNT OF PISHQUITPAHS. 195 

persons, of a tribe called Pishquitpah, whose resi- 
dence on the river is only during the spring and sum- 
mer, the autumn and winter being passed in hunting 
through the plains and along the borders of the 
mountains. The greater part of them had been at 
a distance from the river when we descended, and 
never having seen white men before, they flocked 
round us in great numbers ; but, although they were 
exceedingly curious, they treated us with much re- 
spect, and were very urgent that we should spend 
the night with them. Two principal chiefs were 
pointed out by our Chopunnish companion, and being 
acknowledged as such by the tribe, we invested each 
of them with a small medal. We were also very 
desirous of purchasing more horses ; but as our 
stock of merchandise consisted of little more than 
a dirk, a sword, and a few old clothes, the Indians 
could not be induced to traffic with us. The Pish- 
quitpahs are generally of good stature and propor- 
tions, and as the heads neither of the males nor fe- 
males are so much flattened as those of the natives 
lower down, their features are rather pleasant. 
Their hair is braided in the manner practised by their 
western neighbours ; but the generality of the men 
are dressed in a large robe, under which is a shirt 
reaching to the knees, where it is met by long leg- 
gins, and the feet are covered with moccasins : some, 
however, wear only the truss and robe. As they 
unite the occupations of hunting and fishing, both 
sexes ride very dexterously ; their caparison being 
a saddle or pad of dressed skin, stuffed with goat's 
hair, from which wooden stirrups are suspended, and 
a hair rope is tied at both ends to the under jaw of 
the animal. The horses, however, though good, 
suff'er much, as do, in fact, all the Indian horses, from 
sore backs. 

" Finding them not disposed to barter with us, we 
left the Pishquitpahs at four o'clock, accompanied 
by eighteen or twenty of their young men on horse- 



196 LEWIS \ND Clarke's expedition. 

back. At the distance of four miles we passed, with- 
out halting, five houses belonging to the Wollawol- 
\ahs ; and five miles farther, observing as many wil- 
lows as would enable us to make fires, we availed 
ourselves of the circumstance, and encamped near 
them. 

" The country through which we passed resembled 
that of yesterday. The hills on both sides of the 
river are about two hundred and fifty feet high, gen- 
erally abrupt and craggy, and in many places pre- 
senting a perpendicular face of black, solid rock. 
From the top of these hills the country extends it- 
self in level plains to a very great distance, and 
though not so fertile as the land near the Falls, pro- 
duces an abundant supply of low grass, which is an 
excellent food for horses. This grass must, indeed, 
be unusually nutritious, for even at this season of 
the year, after wintering on the dry grass of the 
plains, and being used with greater severity than is 
usual among the whites, many of the horses were 
perfectly fat, nor had we seen a single one that was 
really poor. In the course of the day we killed sev- 
eral rattlesnakes, like those of the United States, 
and saw many of the common as well as the horned 
lizard." * * * 

As they advanced the next day the hills became 
low, and left an extensive plain on each side of the 
river. Having proceeded thirty-one miles, they halt- 
ed for the night not far from some houses of the 
WollawoUahs. On the 27th they found the abrupt, 
rocky hills again approaching the river ; and, after 
a march of twenty-four miles, they halted for din- 
ner. " Soon after stopping," says the Journal, " we 
were joined by seven WollawoUahs, among whom 
we recognised a chief by the name of Yellept, who 
had visited us on the 19th of October, when we gave 
him a medal, with the promise of a larger one on 
our return. He appeared very much pleased at see- 
ing us again, and invited us to remain at his village 



RECEPTION BY THE WOLLAWOLLAHS. 197 

three or four days, during which he would supply 
us with the only food they had, and furnish us with 
horses for our journey. After the cold, inhospitable 
treatment we had lately received, this kind offer was 
peculiarly acceptable ; and, having made a hasty 
meal, we accompanied him to his village, six miles 
above, situated on the edge of the low country, and 
about twelve miles below the mouth of Lewis's 
River. Immediately on our arrival, Yellept, who 
proved to be a man of much influence, not only in 
his own, but among the neighbouring nations, collect- 
ed the inhabitants, and, after having made an ha- 
rangue to them, the purport of which was to induce 
them -to treat us hospitably, set them an example by 
bringing himself an armful of wood, and a platter 
containing three roasted mullets. They immediate- 
ly complied with one part, at least, of the recom- 
mendation, by furnishing us with an abundance of 
the only sort of fuel th^ use, the stems of shrubs 
growing in the plains. We then purchased four 
dogs, on which we supped heartily, having been on 
short allowance for two days previously. When we 
were disposed to sleep, the Indians retired immedi- 
ately on our requesting them to do so, and, indeed, 
uniformly conducted themselves with great propri- 
ety. These people live mostly on roots, which are 
very abundant in the plains, and catch a few salmon- 
trout ; but they then seemed to be subsisting chiefly 
•on a species of mullet, weighing from one to three 
pounds. They informed us that opposite to their 
village there was a route which led to the mouth of 
the Kooskooskee, on the south side of Lewis's Riv- 
er ; that the road itself was good, and passed over 
a level country well supplied with water and grass ; 
and that we should meet with plenty of deer and an- 
telope. We knew that a road in that direction would 
shorten the distance at least eighty miles ; and as 
the report of our guide was confirmed by Yellept 
and other Indians, we did not hesitate to adopt this 



198 LEWIS AND Clarke's exildition. 

route: they added, however, that V.y^re were no 
houses, nor permanent Indian residences on the road, 
and that it would therefore be prudent not to trust 
wholly to our guns, but to lay in a stock of provis- 
ions. 

" April 28. Taking their advice, therefore, we this 
morning purchased ten dogs. While the trade for 
these was being conducted by our men, Yellept 
brought a fine white horse, and presented him to 
Captain Clarke, expressing at the same time a wish 
to have a kettle ; but, on being informed that we had 
already disposed of the last kettle we could spare, he 
said he would be content with any present we chose 
to make him in return. Captain Clarke thereupon 
gave him his sword, for which the chief had before 
expressed a desire, adding one hundred balls, some 
powder, and other small articles, with which he ap- 
peared perfectly satisfied. We were now anxious 
to depart, and requested Tellept to lend us canoes 
for the purpose of crossing the river ; but he would 
not listen to any proposal of the kind. He wished 
us to remain for two or three days ; but, at all 
events, would not consent to our going to-day, for 
he had already sent to invite his neighbours, the 
Chimnapoos, to come down in the evening and join 
his people in a dance for our amusement. We 
urged in vain that by setting out sooner we should 
the earher return with the articles they desired : a 
day, he observed, would make but little difference. 
We at length suggested that, as there was then no 
wind, it was the best time to cross the river, and 
that we would merely take the horses over, and re- 
turn to sleep at their village. To this he assented ; 
and we then crossed with the horses, and, having 
hoppled them, came back to their camp. Fortunately, 
there was among these Wollawollahs a prisoner be 
longing to a tribe of the Shoshonee or Snake In 
dians, residing to the south of the Multnomah, and vis 
iting occasionally the heads of Wollawollah Creek 



CHIMNAPOO AND WOLLAWOLLAH DANCE. 199 

Our Shoshonee woman, Sacajawe ah, though she be- 
longed to a tribe near the Missouri, spoke the same 
language as this prisoner ; and by their means we 
were able to explain ourselves to the Indians, and 
answer all their inquiries with respect to ourselves 
and the object of our journey. Our conversation 
inspired them with much confidence, and they soon 
brought several sick persons, for whom they re- 
quested our assistance. We splintered the broken 
arm of one, gave some relief to another whose knee 
was contracted by rheumatism, and administered 
what we thought would be beneficial for ulcers, and 
eruptions of the skin on various parts of the body, 
which are very common disorders among them. 
But our most valuable medicine was eye-water, 
which we distributed, and which, indeed, they very 
much required ; for the complaints of the eyes, oc- 
casioned bv living so much on the water, and ag- 
gravated by the fine sand of the plains, were univer- 
sal among them. 

" A little before sunset the Chimnapoos, amount- 
incr to one hundred men and a few women, came to 
tlie village, and, joining the Wollawollahs, who were 
about the same number of men, formed themselves 
in a circle round our camp, and waited very patiently 
till our men were disposed to dance, which they did 
for about an hour, to the music of the viohn. They 
then requested the Indians to dance. With thi.« 
they readily complied ; and the whole assemblage, 
amounting, with the women and children of the vil- 
lage, 'to several hundred, stood up, and sang and 
danced at the same time. The exercise was not, 
indeed, very violent nor very graceful ; for the great- 
( r part of them were formed into a solid column, 
] ound a kind of hollow square, stood on the same 

)lace, and merely jumped up at intervals, to keep 
time to the music. Some, however, of the more ac- 
tive warriors entered the square and danced round 

it sideways, and some of our men joined in with 
Jf.-Q 



200 LEWIS AND CLA.RKe's EXPEDITION. 

them, to the great satisfaction of the Indians. The 
dance continued till ten o'clock. The next morning, 
" April 29, Yellept supplied us with two canoes, 
in which we crossed with all our baggage by eleven 
o'clock; but the horses having strayed to some dis- 
tance, we could not collect them in time to reach 
any suitable place for encamping if we should then 
begin our journey, as night would overtake us be- 
fore we came to any water. We therefore thought 
it advisable to encamp about a mile from the Co 
lumbia, at the mouth of the WoUawoUah River. 
This is a handsome stream, about fifty yards wi.Je, 
and four and a half feet in depth. Its waters, which 
are clear, roll over a bed composed principally of 
gravel, intermixed with some sand and mud ; and, 
though the banks are low, they do not seem to be 
overflowed. It empties into the Columbia about 
twelve or fifteen miles from the entrance of Lewis's 
River, and just above a range of high hills crossing 
the former. Its sources, like those of the Tow- 
ahnahiooks, Lapage, Youmalolam, and Wollawol- 
lah, are, as the Indians informed us, on the north side 
of a range of mountains which we saw to the east 
and southeast, and which, commencing to the south 
of Mount Hood, stretch in a northeastern direction 
to the neighbourhood of a southern branch of Lew- 
is's River, at some distance from the Rocky Mount- 
ains. Two principal branches, however, of the Tow- 
ahnahiooks, take their rise in Mount Jefferson and 
Mount Hood, which in fact appear to separate the 
waters of the Multnomah and Columbia. They 
were about sixty-five or seventy miles from this 
place, and, although covered with snow, did not seem 
high To the south of these mountains, the Indian 
prisoner said there was a river running towards the 
northwest, as wide as the Columbia at this place, 
which was nearly a mile. This account might be 
exaggerated, but it served to show that the Multno- 
mah was a very large river, and that, with the as- 



INDIAN FISH-WEAR. 201 

sistance of a southeastern branch of Lewis s River, 
passing round the eastern extremity of the chain of 
mountains in which Mounts Hood and Jefterson are 
so conspicuous, it might water the vast tract of 
country to the south, till its remote sources ap- 
proached those of the Missouri and the Rio de? 
Norte. 

" Near our camp was a fish-wear, formed of two 
curtains of small willow switches, matted together 
with withes of the same plant, and extending across 
the river in two parallel lines, six feet asunder. 
These were supported by several parcels of poles, 
in the manner already described as in use among 
the Shoshonees, and were rolled up or let down at 
pleasure for a few feet, so as either to let the fish 
pass or to detain them. A seine of from fifteen to 
eighteen feet in length is dragged down the river 
by two persons, and the bottom drawn up against 
the curtain of willows. They also employ a small- 
er seine, like a scoop-net, one side of which is con- 
fined to a semicircular bow five feet long, and half 
the size of a man's arm, and the other side held by 
a strong rope, which, being tied at both ends to the 
bow, forms the chord to the semicircle : this is used 
by one person. But the only fish they could take 
at this time were mullet of from four to five pounds 
in weight, and which formed the chief subsistence 
of a village of twelve houses of WollawoUahs, a lit- 
tle below us on the Columbia, as well as of others 
on the opposite side of the river. In the course of 
the day we gave small medals to two inferior chiefs, 
each of whom made us a present of a fine horse. 
We were in a poor condition to make an adequate 
acknowledgment for this kindness, but gave them 
several articles, among which was a pistol, with 
some hundred rounds of ammunition. We had, in- 
deed, been treated by these people with an unusual 
degree of kindness and civility. They seemed to 
have been successful in their hunfiig during the last 



202 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 

winter, for all of them, but particularly the women, 
were much better clad than when we had seen them 
before ; both sexes among the WoUawollahs, as well 
as the Chiranapoos, being provided with good robes, 
moccasins, long shirts, and leggins. Their orna- 
ments were similar to those used below, the hair 
being cut on the forehead, and queues falling over 
the shoulders in front of the body : some have small 
plaits at the earlocks, and others tie a bundle of the 
docked foretop in front of the forehead." * * * 

" April 30. We had now twenty-three horses, many 
of them young and excellent animals, but the great- 
er part had sore backs. The Indians are generally 
cruel masters : they ride very hard, and their sad- 
dles being so badly constructed that it is almost im- 
possible to avoid wounding the animal, they will 
continue to ride the poor creatures after their backs 
are scarified in the most shocking manner. At 
eleven o'clock we left these honest. Worthy people, 
accompanied by our guide and the Chopunnish fam- 
ily, and directed our course north 50° east, across 
an open, level sandy plain, unbroken except by 
large banks of pure sand, which had drifted in many 
parts to the height of fifteen or twenty feet. The 
rest of the plain is poor in point of soil, but through- 
out there is generally a short grass interspersed with 
aromatic shrubs, and a number of plants, the roots 
of which supply the principal food of the natives. 
Among these we observed a root something like the 
sweet potato. At the distance of fourteen miles we 
reached a branch of WollawoUah River, rising in the 
same range of mountains, and emptying itself six 
miles above the mouth of the latter. It is a bold, 
deep stream, about ten yards wide, and seems to be 
navigable for canoes. The hills along this creek 
are generally abrupt and rocky, but the narrow bot- 
tom is very fertile, and both possess twenty times 
as much timber as the Columbia itself: indeed, we 
now find, for the first time since leaving Rock Fort, 



INDIAN REPUGNANCE TO HORSEFLESH. 203 

an abundance of firewood. The growth consists of 
Cottonwood, birch, the crimson haw, red and sweet 
willow, chokecherry, yellow currants, gooseberry, 
the honeysuckle with a white berry, rosebushes, 
sevenbark, and sumach, together with some corn- 
grass and rushes. The advantage of a comfortable 
fire induced us, as it was already night, to halt at 
this place. 

" We were soon supphed by Drewyer with a bea- 
ver and an otter, of which we took only a part of the 
former, and gave the rest to the Indians. The otter 
is with them a favourite food, though much inferior, 
at least in our estimation, to the dog, which they 
will not eat. The flesh of the horse, too, is seldom 
eaten, and never except when absolute necessity 
compels them to eat it, as the only alternative to 
save them from dying with hunger. This fastidi- 
ousness does not seem, however, to proceed so much 
from any dislike to the food as from attachment to 
the animal itself, for many of them ate very heartily 
of the horseflesh which we gave them." * * * 

After they had proceeded nine miles the next day, 
their Chopunnish Indian left them, taking an old, 
unbeaten road which led to the left. " At the dis- 
tance of three miles farther," continues the Journal, 
" the hills on the north side became lower, and the 
bottoms of the creek widened into a pleasant coun- 
try, two or three miles in extent. The timber, too, 
was now more abundant, and our guide told us that 
we should not want either wood or game from this 
place as far as the Kooskooskee. We had already 
seen several deer, of which we killed one, and ob- 
served great numbers of curlew, as well as some 
cranes, ducks, prairie larks, and several species of 
the sparrow common to the prairies. There is, in 
fact, very little difference in the general face of the 
country here from that of the plains on the Missou- 
ri, except that the latter are enlivened by vast herds 
of buffalo, elk, and other animals, which give it an 



204 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition.. 

additional interest. Over these wide bottoms we 
continued on a course north 75° east, till, at the dis- 
tance of seventeen miles from where we had dined, 
and twenty-six from our last encampment, we halt- 
ed for the night. We had scarcely encamped when 
three young men came up from the Wollawollah vil- 
lage, with a steel-trap which had inadvertently been 
left behind, and which they had come a whole day's 
journey in order to restore. This act of integrity 
was the more pleasing, because, though very rare 
among Indians, it corresponded perfectly with the 
general behaviour of the Wollawollahs, among whom 
we had lost carelessly several knives, which were 
always returned as soon as found. We may, in- 
deed, justly affirm, that of all the Indians whom we 
had met since leaving the United States, the Wolla- 
wollahs were the most hospitable, honest, and sin- 
cere." 



MEETING WITH BIGHORN 205 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Party pursue their Route towards the Kooskooskee. — They 
reach the Kinnooenim Creek. — Meet with an old Acquaint- 
ance, called the Bighorn Indian.— Arrive at the Mouth of the 
Kooskooskee. — Difficulty of purchasing Provisions from the 
Natives, and new Device of the Party to obtain them. — Chopun 
nish Style of Architecture. — Captain Clarke turns Physician, 
and performs several Experiments upon the Natives with Suc- 
cess. — Instance of their Honesty. — Distress of the Indians 
for want of Provisions during the Winter. — The Party finally 
meet Twisted Hair, to whom their Horses had been intrusted 
on their Journey down. — Quarrel between that Chief and an- 
other of his Nation, in regard to his Horses. — Causes of the 
Controversy stated at large. — The two Chiefs reconciled by 
the Interference of the Party, and the Horses restored. — Ex- 
traordinary Instance of Indian Hospitality towards Strangers. — 
Council held with the Chopunnish, and the Object of the Ex- 
pedition explained. — The Party perform other medical Cures. 
— Answer of the Chopunnish to the Speech delivered at the 
Council, ratified by a singular Ceremony. — They promise 
faithfully to follow the Advice of their Visiters. 

They followed the course of the creek the next 
day, and, after travelling nineteen miles, encamped 
for the night. The mountains to the southwest, at 
the distance of twenty-five miles, though not ap- 
pearing to be very high, were still covered with 
snow. Pursuing a course north 25° east on the 
morning of the 3d, at the distance of twelve miles 
they reached the Kinnooenim Creek ; and three miles 
beyond thisi in a northeasterly direction, they came 
to a branch of this creek, which they followed for 
eleven miles, and "at that distance," says the Jour- 
nal, we were agreeably surprised by the appearance 
of Weahkoonut, or the Indian whom we had called 
The Biffhorn, from the circumstance of his wearing 



206 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

a horn of that animal suspended from his left arm. 
He had gone down with us last year along Lewis's 
River, and was highly serviceable in preparing the 
minds of the natives for our reception. He was, 
moreover, the first chief of a large band of Chopun- 
nish ; and, hearing that we were on our return, he 
had come with ten of his warriors to meet us. He 
now turned back with us, and we continued up the 
bottoms of the creek for two miles, till the road be- 
gan to leave it, and to cross the hill towards the 
plains. "We therefore encamped for the night in a 
grove of Cottonwood, after we had made a disagree- 
able journey of twenty-eight miles. During the 
greater part of the day the air had been keen and 
cold, and it alternately rained, hailed, and snowed ; 
but, though the wind blew with great violence, it 
was fortunately from the southwest, and on our 
backs. We had consumed at dinner the last of our 
dried meat, and nearly all that was left of the dogs ; 
so that we supped very scantily on the remainder, 
and had nothing for the next day. Weahkoonut, 
however, assured us that there was a house on the 
river at no great distance, where we could supply 
ourselves with provisions. We now missed oui 
guide and the Wollawollahs, who had left us ab- 
ruptly in the morning, and never returned. 

" May 4. We were now nearer to the southwest 
mountains, which appeared to become lower as they 
advanced towards the northeast. We followed the 
road over the plains, north 60^ east, for four miles 
to a ravine, where was the source of a small creek, 
down the hilly and rocky sides of which we proceed- 
ed for eight miles to its entrance into Lewis's River, 
about seven miles and a half above the mouth of the 
Kooskooskee. Near this place we found the house 
which Weahkoonut had mentioned, and where we 
now halted for breakfast. It contained six families, 
but so miserably poor that all we could obtain from 
them were two lean dogs and a few hirge cakes of 



ARRIVAL AT A CHOPUNNISH VILLAGE. 207 

half-prepared bread, made of a root resembling the 
sweet potato, of all which we contrived to form a 
kind of soup. The soil of the plain is good, but it 
has no timber. The range of southwestern mount- 
ains vi^as about fifteen miles above us, but continued 
to become lower, and was still covered with snow 
to its base. After giving a passage to Lewis's River 
near their northeastern extremity, they terminate i» 
a high level plain between that river and the Koos- 
kooskee. The salmon not having yet called them 
to the rivers, the greater part of the Chopunnish 
were still dispersed in villages through this plain, for 
the purpose of collecting quamash and cow-weed, 
which grow here in great abundance, the soil being 
extremely fertile, and in many places covered with 
the long-leafed pine, the larch, and balsam-fir, which 
contribute to render it less dry than the open, un- 
sheltered plains. After our repast we continued our 
route along the west side of the river, where, as well 
as on the opposite shore, the high hills approached 
it closely, till, at the distance of three miles, we 
halted near two houses. The inmates consisted of 
five families of Chopunnish, among whom were Te- 
toh or Sky, the younger of the two chiefs who ac- 
companied us in the autumn to the Great Falls of 
the Columbia, and also our old pilot who had con- 
ducted us down to that river. They both advised us 
to cross here, and ascend the Kooskooskee on the 
northeast 'ide, this being the shortest and best route 
to the forks of that river, where we should find 
Twisted Hair, in whose charge we hadleft our horses, 
and to which place they promised to show us the 
way. We did not hesitate to accept their offer, and 
crossed over with the assistance of three canoes ; 
but, as the night was coming on, we purchased a lit- 
tle wood and some roots of cow-weed, and encamp- 
ed, though we had made only fifteen miles during 
the day. The evening proved cold and disagree- 
able, and the natives crowded round our fire in such 
U.— R 



208 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

numbers that we could scarcely cook or keep our- 
selves warm." * * * 

" May 5. We collected our horses, and at seven 
o'clock set forward alone; for Weahkoonut, whose 
people resided above on the west side of Lewis's 
River, resumed his route homeward when we cross- 
ed to the huts. Our road was over the plains for 
four and a half miles to the entrance of the Koos- 
kooskee. We then proceeded up that river, and at 
five miles reached a large mat house, but could not 
procure any provisions from the inhabitatits ; how- 
ever, on reaching another three miles beyond, we 
were surprised at the liberality of an Indian, who 
presented to Captain Clarke a very fine gray mare, 
for which all he requested was a vial of eyewater. 
Last autumn, while we were encamped at the mouth 
of the Chopunnish River, a man who complained of 
a pain in his knee and thigh was brought to us, in 
hopes of receiving some relief. To appearance he 
had recovered from his disorder, though he had not 
walked for some time ; but, that we might not disap- 
point them. Captain Clarke, with much ceremony, 
washed and rubbed his sore limb, and gave him some 
volatile liniment to continue the operation, which 
caused, or, more properly, perhaps, did not prevent, 
his complete cure. The man gratefully circulated 
our praises, and our fame as physicians was farther 
increased by the efficacy of some eye-water which 
we had given them at the same time. We were by 
no means dissatisfied at this new resource for ob- 
taining subsistence, as the Indians would give us no 
provisions without merchandise, and our stock was 
now very much reduced. We cautiously abstained 
from giving them any but harmless medicines, and 
as we could not possibly do harm, our prescriptions, 
though unsanctioned by the faculty, might be useful, 
and were therefore entitled to some remuneration. 
Four miles beyond this we came to another large 
house, containing ten families, where we halted, and 



IMPUDENCE OF AN INDIAN. 209 

made our dinner on two dogs and a small quantity 
of roots, which we did not obtain without much dif- 
ficulty. While we were eating, an Indian standing 
by, and looking with great derision at our eating 
dog's flesh, threw a poor half-starved puppy almost 
into Captain Lewis's plate, laughing heartily at the 
humour of it. Captain Lewis took up the animal, 
and flung it back with great force into the fellow's 
face, and, seizing his tomahawk, threatened to cut 
him down if he dared to repeat such insolence. Ht 
immediately withdrew, apparently much mortified, 
and we continued our dog repast very quietly. Here 
we met our old Chopunnish guide, with his family ; 
and soon afterward one of our horses, which had 
been separated from the others in the charge of 
Twisted Hair, and been in this neighbourhood for 
several weeks, was caught and restored to us. 

" After dinner we proceeded to the entrance of 
Colter's Creek, at the distance of four miles, and, 
having made twenty and a half miles, encamped on 
the lower side of it. This creek rises not far from 
the Rocky Mountains, and, passing in the greater 
part of its course through a country well supplied 
with pine, discharges a large body of water. It is 
about twenty-five yards wide, with a pebbled bed 
and low banks. At a little distance from us were 
two Chopunnish houses, one of which contained 
eight families, and the other, much the largest we 
had yet seen, was inhabited by at least thirty. It 
was rather a kind of shed, built, hke all the other 
houses, of straw and matSj with a roof one hundred 
and fifty-six feet long, and about fifteen wide, closed 
at the ends, and having a number of doors on each 
side. The vast interior was without partitions, but 
the fires of the different families were kindled in a 
row through the middle of the building, and about 
ten feet apart. This village was the residence of 
one of the principal chiefs of the nation, who was 
called Neeshnepahkeeook, or Cut Nose, from the cir- 



210 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

camstance of his nose having been cut by the stroke 
of a lance in battle with the Snake Indians. We 
gave him a small medal ; but, though he was a great 
chief, his influence among his own people did not 
seem to be considerable, and his countenance pos- 
sessed very little intelligence. We arrived very 
hungry and weary, but could not purchase any pro 
visions except a small quantity of the roots of the 
cow-weed, and some bread made from them. They 
had, however, heard of our medical skill, and made 
many applications for assistance ; but we refused to 
do anything for them, unless they gave us either 
some dog or horse flesh to eat. We had soon nearly 
fifty patients. A chief brought his wife with an ab- 
scess in her back, and promised to furnish us with a 
horse the next day if we would relieve her. Cap- 
tain Clarke therefore opened the abscess, intro- 
duced a tent, and dressed it with basilicon. We 
also prepared and distributed some doses of the flour 
of sulphur and cream of tartar, with directions for 
their use. For these we obtained several dogs ; but 
they were too poor to be eaten, and we therefore 
postponed our medical operations till the morning. 
In the mean time a number of Indians, besides the 
residents of the village, gathered about us, or en- 
camped in the woody bottom of the creek. 

" In the evening we learned from a Snake Indian, 
who happened to be at the place, that one of the old 
men had been endeavouring to excite prejudices 
against us by observing that he thought we were 
bad men, and came there, most probably, for the 
purpose of killing them. In order to remove such 
suspicions, we made a speech, in which, by means 
of the same Indian, we informed them of our coun- 
try, and of the purposes of our visit. While we 
were thus engaged, we were joined by Weahkoo- 
nut, who assisted us in effacing all unfavourable im- 
pressions from the minds of the Indians. The fol- 
lowing morning 



THE PARTY TURN PHYSICIANS. 211 

" May 6, our practice became more lucrative. The 
woman declared that she had slept better than she 
had before since her illness. She was therefore 
dressed a second time, and her husband, according 
to promise, brought us a horse, which we immedi- 
ately killed. Besides this woman, we had crowds 
of applicants, chiefly afiiicted with sore eyes ; and, 
after administering to them for several hours, found 
ourselves once more in possession of a plentiful 
meal ; for the inhabitants became more and more 
friendly, and one of them even gave us a horse for 
our prescriptions for his daughter, a little girl who 
was afflicted with the rheumatism. We moreover 
exchanged one of our horses with Weahkoonut by 
adding a small flag, obtaining an excellent sorrel 
horse. 

"We found here three men of a nation called 
Skeetsomish, who reside at the falls of a large river 
emptying itself into the north side of the Columbia, 
and which takes its rise from a spacious lake in the 
mountains, at no great distance from these falls. 
We now designated this river by the name of 
Clarke's River, as we did not know its Indian name, 
and we were the first whites who had ever visited 
its principal branches ; for the Great Lake River, 
mentioned by Mr. Fidler, if at all connected with 
Clarke's River, must be a very inconsiderable branch. 
To the river, moreover, which we had before called 
Clarke's River, rising in the southwest mountains, 
we restored the name of Towahnahiooks, the appel- 
lation by which it is known to the Eneeshurs. In 
dress and appearance these Skeetsomish were not 
to be distinguished from the Chopunnish ; but their 
language was entirely diff'erent, a circumstance which 
we did not learn till their departure, when it was too 
late to obtain from them a vocabulary of it." * * * 

They set out about two o'clock, accompanied by 
Weahkoonut, with ten or twelve men, and an Indian 
who called himself the brother of Twisted Hair; 



/ 



\ 



212 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

and after proceeding nine miles they halted, having 
lost the horse they had intended to kill, and, conse- 
quently, being obliged to lie down supperless for the 
night. 

They started the next morning with the brother 
of Twisted Hair for their guide ; and after proceed- 
ing four miles, to a house containing six families, by 
his advice they crossed to the other side of the riv- 
er, expecting to find game more plentiful near the 
mouth of the Chopunnish. " An Indian," says the 
narrative, " now brought two canisters of powder, 
which his dog," he stated, " had discovered under 
ground, in a bottom some miles above. We imme- 
diately knew them to be the same we had buried 
last autunm, and as he had kept them safely, and 
was honest enough to return them, we rewarded 
him — inadequately, to be sure, but as well as we 
could — with a steel for striking fire. We set out at 
three o'clock, and pursued a difficult and stony road 
for two miles, when we left the river, and ascended 
the hills on the right, which began to resemble 
mountains. But when we reached the heights we 
saw before us a beautiful level country, partially 
covered with the long-leafed pine, and supplied with 
an excellent herbage, the abundant productions of 
a dark, rich soil. In many parts of the plain the 
earth was thrown up into little mounds by some 
animal whose habits most resemble those of the 
salamander ; but, although these mounds were scat- 
tered all over the plains from the Mississippi to the 
Pacific, we had never been able to obtain a sight of 
the animal to which they owe their origin." 

Coming to a deserted Indian settlement, on a 
small creek emptying into the Kooskooskee, they 
encamped there for the night. The spurs of the 
Rocky Mountains were covered with snow, which 
the Indians said was still deep, and that they would 
not b*e able to cross them before the 1st of June. 
They had seen some deer in the course of the day, 
and the tracks of many others. 



WANT OF FOOD AMONG THE NATIVES. 213 

•' May 8. Most of the hunters set out at daylight. 
By eleven o'clock they all returned, with four deer, 
and a duck of an uncommon kind, which, with the 
remains of our horse, formed a stock of provisions 
such as we had not lately possessed. Not havnig 
our facilities of procuring subsistence with guns, 
the natives of this country must often suffer very 
severely. During the last winter they had been so 
much distressed for food, that they were obliged to 
boil and eat the moss growing on the pine-trees. At 
the same time they cut down nearly all the long- 
leafed pines (which we observed lying on the 
ground), for the purpose of collecting its seed, which 
resembles in size and shape that of the large sun- 
flower, and, when roasted or boiled, is nutritious, and 
not disagreeable to the taste. In the spring they 
peel this pine, and eat tiie inner bark ; and in the 
creek near us they take some trout by means of a 
falling trap, similar to those common in the United 
States. We gave Neeshnepahkeeook and his peo- 
ple some of our game and horseflesh, besides the 
entrails of the deer. They did not eat any of it 
perfectly raw, but the entrails had very little cook- 
ing. The Shoshonee was offended at not receiving 
as much venison as he wished, and refused to inter- 
pret ; but, as we took no notice of him, he became 
very ofiicious in the course of a few hours, and made 
many advances to reinstate himself in our favour. 
The mother of Twisted Hair and Neeshnepahkeeook 
now drew a sketch, which we preserved, of all the 
waters west of the Rocky Mountains. They made 
the main southern branch of Lewis's River much 
more extensive than the other, and placed a great 
number of Shoshonee villages on its western side. 

" Between three and four o'clock in the afternoon 
we set out, in company with Neeshnepahkeeook and 
other Indians, the brother of Twisted Hair having left 
us. Our route was up a high steep hill to a level 
plain, with little wood, over which we passed in a 



214 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

direction parallel to the river for four miles, when 
we met Twisted Hair and six of his people. To this 
chief we had confided our horses and part of our 
saddles the preceding autumn, and we therefore 
formed very unfavourable surmises on finding tha* 
he received us with much coldness. He soon began 
to speak to Neeshnepahkeeook in a very loud, angry 
tone, and was answered by him. We now discov- 
ered that there was a violent quarrel between these 
chiefs, on the subject, as we afterward understood, 
of our horses. But, as we could not learn the cause, 
and were desirous of terminating the dispute, we 
interposed, and told them that we should go on to 
the first water and halt. We therefore set out, fol- 
lowed by all the Indians, and, having reached, at 
two miles' distance, a small stream running to the 
right, we encamped, the two chiefs and their little 
bands forming separate camps at a distance from 
each other. They all appeared to be in very ill hu- 
mour ; and as we had already heard a report that the 
Indians had discovered and carried off our saddles, 
and that the horses were much scattered, we began 
to be uneasy lest there should be too much founda- 
tion for the rumour. We were therefore anxious to 
reconcile the two chiefs as soon as possible, and de- 
sired the Shoshonee to interpret for us while we at- 
tempted to mediate between them : but he peremp- 
torily refused to speak a word. He observed that 
it was a quarrel between the two. chiefs, and he had 
therefore no right to interfere ; nor could all our 
representations, that, in merely repeating what we 
said, he could not possibly be considered as meddling 
between them, induce him to take any part in it. 

" Soon afterward Drewyer returned from hunting, 
and was sent to invite Twisted Hair to smoke with 
us. He accepted the invitation, and, as we were 
smoking over our fire, he informed us that, accord- 
ing to his promise on leaving us at the Falls of the 
Columbia, he collected our horses and took charge 



QUARREL BETWEEN TWO CHIEFS. 215 

of them as soon as he reached home. But about 
this time Neeshnepahkeeook andTunnacheraootoolt, 
or Broken Arm, who, as we passed, had been on a 
war party against the Shoshonees on the south 
branch of Lewis's River, returned, and becoming 
jealous of him because the horses had been confided 
to his care, constantly sought to quarrel with him. 
At length, being an old man, and unwilling to live in 
a perpetual broil with these chiefs, he gave up the 
care of the horses to them, in consequence of which 
the animals had become very much scattered. The 
greater part of them were, however, still in the 
neighbourhood ; some in the forks between the 
Chopunnish ana Kooskooskee, and three or four 
at the village of Broken Arm, about half a day's 
march higher up the river. He added, that on the 
rise of the river in the spring, the earth had fallen 
from the door of the cache, and exposed the saddles, 
some of which had probably been lost ; but that, as 
soon as he was acquainted with the situation of them, 
he had them buried in another deposite, where they 
now were. He promised that, if we would stay the 
next day at his house, a few miles distant, he would 
collect such of the horses as were in the neighbour- 
hood, and send his young men for those in the forks, 
over the Kooskooskee, He moreover advised us to 
visit Broken Arm, who was a chief of great eminence, 
and he would himself guide us to his dwelling. 

" We told him that we would follow his advice in 
every respect ; that we had confided our horses to 
his care, and expected he would deliver them to us, 
on which we should cheerfully give him the two guns 
and the ammunition we had promised him. With 
this he seemed very much pleased, and declared he 
would use every exertion to restore the horses. We 
now sent for Neeshnepahkeeook, or Cut Nose, and, 
after smoking for some time, began by expressing 
to the two chiefs our regret at seeing a misunder- 
standing between them. Neeshnepahkeeook replied 



216 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

that Twisted Hair was a bad old man, and wore two 
faces ; for, instead of taking care of our horses, he 
had suffered his young men to hunt with them, so 
that they had been very much injured, and it was 
for this reason that Broken Arm and himself had for- 
bidden him to use them. Twisted Hair made no re- 
ply to this speech, and we then told Neeshnepah- 
keeook of our arrangement for the next day. He 
appeared to be very well satisfied, and said he would 
himself go with us to Broken Arm, who expected to 
see us, and had two bad horses for us ; by which ex- 
pression it was meant that he intended making us a 
present of two valuable horses. That chief, he also 
informed us, had been apprized of our want of pro- 
visions, and had sent four young men with a supply 
for us ; but that, having taken a different road, they 
had missed us. After this interview we retired to 
rest at a late hour, and in the morning, 

" May 9, after sending out several hunters, we 
proceeded through a rich, level country, similar to 
that of the previous day, for six miles, when we 
reached the house of Twisted Hair, situated near 
some larch-trees and a few bushes of the balsam- 
fir." * * * " Late in the afternoon Twisted Hair re- 
turned with about half the saddles we had left in the 
autumn, and some powder and lead that had been 
buried at the same place. Soon after the Indians 
brought us twenty-one of our horses, the greater 
part of which were in excellent order, though some 
of them had not yet recovered from hard usage, and 
three had sore backs. We were, however, very 
glad to recover them in any condition. Several In- 
dians came down from the village of Tunnachemoo- 
toolt, and passed the night with us. Cut Nose and 
Twisted Hair seemed now to be perfectly reconciled, 
for they both slept in the house of the latter. The 
man who had imposed himself upon us as a brother 
of Twisted Hair also came and renewed his advances: 
but we found that he was an impertinent, proud 



INTERVIEW WITH TUNNACHEMOOTOOLT. 217 

fellow, of no respectability in the nation, and we 
therefore felt no inchnation to cultivate any intima- 
cy with him. Our camp was in an open plain, and 
soon became very uncomfortable ; for the wind was 
high and cold, and the rain and hail, which began 
about seven o'clock, changed in about two hours to 
a heavy fall of snow, which continued till after six 
o'clock the next morning, 

" May 10, when it ceased, after covering the 
ground eight inches deep, and leaving the air keen 
and frosty. We soon collected our horses, and, after 
a scanty breakfast of roots, set out on a course south 
35° east. The road was very slippery, and the snow 
stuck to the horses' feet, and made them stumble 
very frequently. After going about sixteen miles 
we came to the hills on Commearp Creek, which 
were six hundred feet high, and their tops covered 
with snow, though in the lower parts, as well as 
along the bottom of the creek, there had been only 
rain, while it was snowing on the elevated plains. 
Descending these hills to the creek, at about four 
o'clock we reached the house of Tunnachemootoolt, 
where the flag which we had given him was dis- 
played on a staff, and beneath which we were re- 
ceived with due form, and then conducted a short 
distance to a good spot for an encampment, on Com- 
mearp Creek. We next collected the men of con- 
sideration in the tribe, and, after smoking with them, 
explained how destitute we were of provisions. 
The chief then spoke to the people, and they imme- 
diately brought about two bushels of dried quamash 
roots, some cakes of the roots of cow-weed, and a 
dried salmon-trout. We thanked them for this sup- 
ply, but observed at the same time that, not being 
accustomed to live on roots only, we feared that such 
diet might make our men sick, and proposed to ex- 
change one of our good horses which was rathet 
poor, for one that was fatter that we might kill 
The hosoitable feelings of the chief were shocked at 



218 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the idea of an exchange ; and he at once replied 
that his people had an abundance of young horses, 
and that, if we were disposed to eat such food, we 
might have as many as we wanted. Accordingly, 
they soon brought us two fat young horses, asking 
for nothing in return: an act of liberal kindness 
much greater than any we had witnessed since 
crossing the Rocky Mountains, if it may not^ indeed, 
be considered the only really hospitable treatment 
we had received in this part of the world. We kill- 
ed one of the horses, and then telling the natives 
that we were fatigued and hungry, and that, as soon 
as we were refreshed, we would communicate freely 
with them, began to prepare our repast. 

" During this time a principal chief, called Hohas- 
tillpilp, came from his village, about six miles dis- 
tant, with a party of fifty men, for the purpose of 
visiting us. We invited him into our circle, and he 
alighted and smoked with us, while his retinue, with 
five elegant horses, continued mounted at a short 
distance. While this was going on, the chief had a 
large leathern tent spread for us, and desired that 
we would make it our home so long as we remained 
at his village. We removed there, and having made 
a fire, and cooked our supper of horseflesh and 
roots, collected all the distinguished men present, 
and spent the evening in making known who we 
were, what were the objects of our journey, and in 
answering their inquiries. To each of tiie chiefs 
Tunnachemootoolt and Hohastillpilp we gave a 
small medal, explaining their use and importance as 
honorary distinctions both among the whites and the 
red men. Our men w^ore well pleased at once more 
having made a hearty meal. They had generally 
been in the habit of crowding into the houses of the 
Indians, to purchase provisions on the best terms 
Ihey could ; for the inhospitality of the country was 
such, that often, in the extreme of hunger, they were 
obliged to treat the natives with but little ceremony; 



COUNCIL HELD WITH THE CHOPUNNISH. 219 

^hlV^^'J^''^^^."^^' ^^^ ^^^^ "«^^s very disagree- 
able. Finding that these people are so kind and 
liberal we ordered our men to treat them with the 
greatest respect, and not to throng round thdr fires 
so that they now agree perfectly well together If' 
er the council the Indians felt no disposition om 

on' wJfl^'iT^ ^?^^ ^^'^y' ^"^ breakfasted a^ain 
was in fact oni?^'-^'\^'^.' "^ Tunnachemootool" 
Z^!' f ; r ' "l^ •? ^'"^'^ ^°"-^e' one hundred and 
fifty feet long, built after the Chopunnish fashion 
with sticks, straw, and dried grass. It contained 
twenty four fires, about double fhat number oflamt 
nJ men "^!^^^™"^^^^' P^.^^aps, one hundred fighl 
ng men. Iheir chief subsistence was roots • and 
the noise made by the women in pounding 'them 
gave one the idea of a nail-factory/ Yet otwiT 
standing so many families were c^rowLd^ogeThe^." 
we found the Chopunnish much more cSl in 
their persons and habitations than any people we 
had met since leaving the Ottoes on the Rive? Platte 
In the course of the morning, a chief named Yoom: 

years r^.VT\^7f^°".^-''^^ "^^" ^^ -'^«"t ?orTy 
years of age, who had lost his left eye, arrived from 
his village on the south side of Lewis'L River W^ 
gave him a small medal, and, finding that there were 
na^Ln'^S^V!'' P""^^P^l^hiefs of^he Chopunnis" 

nfnahkeeoor Vnn '"^rJ^^^^' ^^"^^" Arm, Neesh- 
nepankeeook, Yoompahkatim, and HohastillDilo 

we thought this a favourable moment to explain to 
them the intentions of our government. We there- 
fore collected the chiefs and warriors, aiid having 
drawn a map of the relative situation of our coun? 
ry on a mat with a piece of coal, detai ed the na 
ture and power of the American nation, its desfret^ 
preserve harmony between all its red brethren and 
its intention of establishing trading-houses fo"'th^r 



220 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

relief and support. It was not without difficulty, 
nor till nearly half the day had been spent, that we 
were able to convey all this information to the 
Chopunnish, much of which might have been lost or 
misapprehended in its translation into so many dif- 
ferent languages ; for, in the first place, we spoke in 
English to one of our men, who translated it into 
French to Chaboneau, who interpreted it to his wife 
in the Minnetaree tongue, while she then put it into 
Shoshonee, and the young Shoshonee prisoner ex- 
plained it to the Chopunnish in their own dialect. 
At last, however, we succeeded in communicating 
the impression we wished, and then adjourned the 
council ; after which we amused our hosts by show- 
ing them the wonders of the compass, the spyglass, 
the magnet, the watch, and the air-gun, each of 
which attracted its share of admiration. They said 
that after we left the Minnetarees last autumn, three 
young Chopunnish had gone over to that nation, the 
people of which had mentioned to them our visit, 
and the extraordinary articles we had with us, but 
that they had placed no confidence in it until now. 
Among other persons present was a youth, son of a 
Chopunnish chief of much consideration, killed not 
long since by the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. 
As soon as the council was over, he brought a very 
fine mare, with her colt, and begged us to accept 
them, as a proof that he intended to follow our ad- 
vice, for he had opened his ears to it, and it had made 
his heart glad. We now resumed our medical la- 
bours, and had a number of patients afflicted w.ith 
scrofula, rheumatism, and sore eyes, to all whom 
we administered very cheerfully as far as our skill 
and supphes of medicine would permit. We alsQ 
visited a chief who had for three years past so com- 
pletely lost the use of his limbs, that he lay like a 
corpse in whatever position he was placed ; yet he 
ate heartily, digested his food well, had a regular 
pulse, and retained his flesh ; in short, but that he 



SPEECH OF TUNNACHEMOOTOOLT. 221 

was somewhat pale with lying so long out of the 
sun, he might have been mistaken for a man in per- 
fect health. This disease did not seem to be com- 
mon ; indeed, we saw only three cases of it among 
the Chopunnish, who alone are afflicted with it. 
The scrofulous disorders we may readily conjecture 
to originate in the long confinement to vegetable 
diet, which may also, perhaps, increase the soreness 
of the eyes ; but this strange disorder baffled at once 
our curiosity and our skill. Our assistance was 
again demanded early the next morning, 

"May 12, by a crowd of Indians, to whom we 
gave eye-water. Shortly after, the chiefs and war- 
riors held a council among themselves, to decide on 
an answer to our speech, and the result was, as we 
were informed, that they had full confidence in wiiat 
we had told them, and were resolved to follow our 
advice. This determination having been made, the 
principal chief, Tunnachemootoolt, took a quantity 
of flour of the roots of cow-weed, and going round 
to all the kettles and baskets in which his people 
were cooking, thickened the soup into a kind of 
mush. He then began an harangue, setting forth 
the result of the deliberations among the chiefs, and 
after exhorting them to unanimity, concluded with 
an invitation to all who acquiesced in the proceed- 
ings of the council to come and eat ; while those 
who were of a different mind were requested to 
show their dissent by not partaking of the feast. 
During this animated harangue, the women, who 
were probably uneasy at the prospect of forming 
this proposed new connexion with strangers, tore 
their hair, and wrung their hands with the greatest 
appearance of distress. But the concluding appeal 
of the orator effectually stopped the mouths of every 
malecontent, and the proceedings were ratified, and 
the mush devoured with the most zealous unanimity. 
The chiefs and warriors then came in a body to visii 
us as we were seated near our tent ; and at theii 



222 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

instance, two young men, one of whom was a son 
of Tunnachemootoolt, and the other the youth whose 
father had been killed by the Pahkees, presented tc 
us each a fine horse. We invited the chiefs lo be 
seated, and gave every one of them a flag, a pound 
of powder, and fifty balls, and a present of the same 
kind to the young men from whom we had received 
the horses. They then invitea us into the tent, and 
said that they now wished to answer what we had 
told them yesterday, but that many of their people 
were at that moment waiting in great pain for our 
medical assistance. It was therefore agreed thai 
Captain Clarke, who was the favourite physician, 
should visit the sick, while Captain Lewis held the 
CO? iic.'i ; which was opened by an old man, the fa- 
ther of Hohastillpilp. He began by declaring that 
the nation had listened with attention to our advice, 
and had only one heart and one tongue in declaring 
their determination to follow it. They knew well 
the advantages of peace, for they valued the lives of 
their young men too much to expose them to the 
dangers of war ; and their desire to live quietly with 
their neighbours had induced them last summer to 
send three warriors with a pipe to the Shoshonees, 
in the plains of the Columbia south of Lewis's Riv- 
er. These ministers of peace had been killed by the 
Shoshonees, against whom the nation immediately 
took up arms. They had met them last winter and 
killed forty-two men, with the loss of only three of 
their own party ; so that, having revenged their de- 
ceased brethren, they would no longer make war on 
the Shoshonees, but receive them as friends. As to 
going with us to the plains of the Missouri, they 
would be very willing to do so ; for, though the Black- 
foot Indians and the Pahkees had shed much of their 
blood, they still wished to live in peace with them. 
But we had not yet seen either of these nations, and 
it would therefore be unsafe for them to venture 
till they were assured of not being attacked by them 



PRESENTS TO THE CHIEFS. 223 

iStill, however, some of their young men should ac- 
company us across the mountains, and if they could 
effect a peace with their enemies, the whole nation 
would go over to the Missouri in the course of the 
next summer. On our proposal that one of their 
chiefs should go with us to the country of the whites, 
they had not yet decided, but would let us know be- 
fore we left ; but that, at all events, the whites might 
calculate on their attachment and their best services, 
for, though poor, their hearts were good. The snow 
was, however, still so deep on the mountains, that 
we should perish in attempting the passage, but if 
we waited till after the next full moon, the snows 
would have melted sufficiently to enable our horses 
to subsist on the grass. 

" As soon as this speech was concluded, Captain 
Lewis replied at some length : they appeared to be 
highly gratified with what he said, and after smoking 
the pipe, made us a present of another fat horse. 
In turn, we gave Broken Arm a vial of eye- water, 
• with directions how to wash the eyes of those who 
should apply for it ; and as we promised to fill it again 
when it was exhausted, he seemed very much pleas- 
ed with our liberahty. To Twisted Hair, who had 
last night collected six more horses, we gave a 
gun, a hundred balls, and two pounds of powder, 
and told him he should have the same quantity when 
we received the remainder of our horses. In the 
course of the day three more of them were brought 
in, and a fresh exchange of small presents put the 
Indians in excellent humour. On our expressing a 
wish to cross the river, and form a camp in order to 
hunt and fish till the snows had melted, they recom- 
mended a position a few miles distant, and promised 
to furnish us the next day with a canoe to pass over. 
We invited Twisted Hair to establish himself near our 
camp, for he had several young sons, one of whom 
we hoped to engage as a guide, and he promised to 
do so. Having now settled all their affairs, the In- 
IT._S 



224 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

dians divided themselves into two parties, and began 
to play the game of hiding a bone, already described 
as common to all the natives of this country." 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Party encamp among the Chopunnish, and receive farther 
Evidence of their Hospitality. — Indian Mode of boiling Bear's 
Flesh. — Of decoying the Deer within Reach of their Arrows. 
— Character of the Soil and Climate among the Rocky Mount 
ains. — Varieties of Climate. — Character of the Natives. — 
Their Dress and Ornaments. — Mode of burying the Dead. — 
The Party administer medical Relief to the Natives. — One 
of the Natives restored to the Use of his Limbs by Sweat- 
ing, and the curious Process by which Perspiration was exci- 
ted. — Another Proof of Chopunnish Hospitality. — Success 
of their sweating Prescription on an Indian Chief. — Descrip- 
tion of the Horned Lizard and a Variety of Insects. — Attach- 
ment of the Friends of a dying Indian to a Tomahawk which he 
had stolen from the Party, and which they desired to bury with 
the Body.— Description of the River Tommanamah. — The In- 
dians return an Answer to a Proposition made by the Party. 

They were disappointed in being furnished with a 
canoe in season to cross the river the next day, but 
passed over on the 14th, and formed their camp 
where the Indians had recommended. " As soon as 
we had encamped," says the Journal, " Tunnache- 
mootoolt and Hohastillpilp, with about twelve of their 
nation, came to the opposite side and began to sing, 
this being the usual token of friendship on such oc- 
casions. We sent the canoe for them, and the two 
chiefs came over with several of the party, among 
whom were the two young men who had given us 
the two horses in behalf of the nation. After smo- 
king for some time, Hohastillpilp presented to Cap- 
tain Lewis an elegant gray gelding which he had 
brought for the purpose, and was perfectly satisfied at 



THE VARIEGATED BEAR. 225 

receiving in return a handkerchief, two hundred 
calls, and four pounds of powder. 

" The hunters killed some pheasants, two squir- 
rels, and a male and a female bear, the first of which 
was large and fat, and of a bay colour ; the second, 
meager, grizzly, and of a smaller size. They were of 
the species common to the upper part of the Mis- 
souri, and might well be termed the variegated bear, 
for they are found occasionally of a black grizzly 
brown or red colour. There is every reason to be- 
lieve that ihey are of precisely the same species. 
Those of different colours are sometimes killed to- 
gether, as in the case of these two, and as we had 
found the white and bay associated together on the 
Missouri : some nearly white were seen in this 
neighbourhood by the hunters. Indeed, it is not 
common to find any two bears of the same colour ; 
and if difference of colour were allowed to constitute 
a distinct species, the number would be increased to 
almost twenty. Soon after they killed a female bear 
with two cubs. The mother was black, with a con- 
siderable intermixture of white hairs, and a white 
spot on her breast. One of the cubs was jet black, 
and the other of a light reddish brown or bay colour. 
The fur of these variegated bears is much finer, lon- 
ger, and more abundant than that of the common 
black bear ; but the most striking difference between 
them is, that the former are larger, have longer tusks, 
and longer as well as blunter claws ; that they prey 
more on other animals ; and that they lie neither so 
long nor so closely in winter-quarters, and never 
climb a tree, however closely pressed by the hunters. 
The variegated bear here, though specifically the same 
with those we met on the Missouri, are by no means 
so ferocious, probably because the scarcity of game 
and the habit of living on roots may have weaned 
them from attacking and devouring animals. Still, 
however, they are not so passive as the common 
black bear, which are also found here ; for they had 



226 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 

fought with our hunters, though with less fur}'- than 
those on the other side of the mountains. 

" A large part of the mea*. we gave to the Indians, 
to whom it was a great luxury, as they scarcely taste 
flesh once in a month. They immediately prepared 
a large fire of dried wood, on which were thrown a 
numberof smooth stones from the river. As soon as 
the fire went down and the stones were heated, they 
were laid close to each other in a level position, 
and covered with a quantity of pine branches, on 
which were placed flitches of the meat, and then 
boughs and flesh alternately for several courses, 
leaving a thick layer of pine on the top. On this 
heap they then poured a small quantity of water, and 
covered the whole with earth to the depth of four 
inches. After remaining in this state for about three 
hours, the meat was taken off, and was really more 
tender than that which we had boiled or roasted, 
though the strong flavour of the pine rendered it dis- 
agreeable to our palates. This repast gave them 
much satisfaction ; for, though they sometimes kill 
the black bear, they attack very reluctantly the fierce 
variegated bear ; and never except when they can 
pursue him on horseback over the plains, and shoot 
him with arrows." * * * 

" May 15. As we were compelled to pass some 
time in this neighbourhood, a number of hunters 
were sent in diff'erent directions, and the rest were 
employed in completing the camp. We secured the 
baggage with a shelter of grass, and made a kind of 
bower of the under part of an old sail, the leathern 
tent being too rotten for use, while the men formed 
very comfortable huts in the shape of the awning of 
a wagon, by means of willow poles and grass. 
Tunnachemootoolt and his young men left us in the 
morning to go home, and soon after we were visit- 
ed by a party of fourteen Indians on horseback, pro- 
ceeding on a hunting excursion, armed with bows and 
arrows. The chief game is the deer, and, whenever 



INDIAN MODE OF DECOYING DEER. 227 

the ground will permit, they prefer hunting on horse- 
back ; but in the woodlands, where this is impracti- 
cable, they make use of a decoy. This consists of 
the skin of the head and upper part of the neck of a 
deer, kept in its natural shape by a frame of small 
sticks in the inside. As soon as the hunter perceives 
a deer, he conceals himself, and with his hand moves 
the decoy so as to represent a real deer in the act of 
feeding, which is done so naturally that the game is 
enticed within reach of their arrows." * * * 

The next day a horse which had strayed was 
brought back by one of the Indians, thus affording 
another instance of the honesty of these people. 
Their native guests all left them in the course of 
the day. 

" May 17. It rained," continues the narrative, 
" during the greater part of the night, and our flimsy 
covering being insufficient for our protection, we 
lay in water the most of the time ; and, what was 
more unlucky, our chronometer got wet. The rain 
continued with us nearly the whole day, while on 
the high plains the snow was falling, and lay two or 
three inches in depth. This weather confined us to 
our camp, and kept the Indians from us ; so that for 
the first time since we had left the Narrows of the 
Columbia, a day was passed without being visited 
by them. 

" The country along the Rocky Mountains, for sev- 
eral hundred miles in length and about fifty in width, 
is a high level plain ; in all its parts extremely fer- 
tile, and in many places covered with a growth of 
tall long-leafed pine. This plain is chiefly inter- 
rupted near the streams of water, where the hills are 
steep and lofty; but the soil on them is good, being 
unencumbered by much stone, and possessing more 
timber than the level country. Under shelter of 
these hills, the bottom lands skirt the margins of the 
rivers, and though narrow and confined, are fertile 
and rarely inundated. Nearly the whole of this 



228 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

widespread tract is covered with a profusion of 
grass and plants, which were at this time as high as 
the knee. Among these are a variety of esculent 
plants and roots, gathered without much difficulty, 
and yielding not only a nutritious, but a very agree- 
able food. The air is pure and dry, the climate quite 
as mild, if not milder, than in the same parallels of 
latitude in the Atlantic States, and must be equally 
healthy; for all the disorders which we had wit- 
nessed might fairly be imputed more to the nature 
of the diet of the inhabitants than to any peculiarity 
of climate. This general observation is of course 
to be qualified, since in the same tract of country 
the degrees of the variation of heat and cold depend 
much upon the influence of situation. Thus the 
rains of the low grounds near our camp were snows 
in the high plains ; and while the sun shone with in- 
tense heat in the confined bottoms, the plains had 
a much colder air, and the vegetation was retarded 
there at least fifteen days, while at the foot of the 
mountains the snows were still many feet in depth ; 
so that within twenty miles of our camp we observ- 
ed the rigours of winter cold, the cool air of spring, 
and the oppressive heat of midsummer. On th^ 
plains, however, where the snow had fallen, it seem- 
ed to do but little injury to the grass and other plants, 
which, though apparently tender and susceptible, 
were still blooming at the height of nearly eighteen 
inches through their wintry mantle. In short, this 
district affords many advantages to settlers; and, if 
properly cultivated, would yield every object ne- 
cessary for the subsistence and comfort of civilized 
man. 

" The Chopunnish are in general stout, well form- 
ed, and active : they have high, and many of them 
aquiline noses, and the general appearance of the 
face is cheerful and agreeable, though without any 
indication of gayety and mirth. Like most of the 
Indians, they extract their beards : there does not 



ORNAMENTS WORN BY THE CHOPUNNISH. 229 

appear to be any natural deficiency in this respect, for 
we observed several men, w^ho, if they had adopted 
the practice of shaving, vv^ould have been as well sup- 
plied with beards as ourselves. The dress of both 
sexes resembles that of the Shoshonees, and con- 
sists of a long shirt reaching to the thigh, leggins as 
high as the waist, and moccasins and robes, all of 
which are formed of skins. 

" Their ornaments are beads, shells, and pieces of 
brass attached to different parts of the dress, tied 
round the arms, neck, and wrists, or thrown over 
the shoulders ; and to these are added pearls and 
beads suspended from the ears, and a single shell of 
wampum through the nose. The headdress of the 
men is a bandeau of fox or otter skin, either with or 
without the fur, and sometimes an ornament is tied 
to a plait of hair falling from the crown of the head : 
that of the women is a cap without rim, formed of 
bear-grass and cedar bark ; while the hair itself of 
both sexes falls in two rows down the front of the 
body. Collars of bears' claws are also common. 
But the personal ornament most esteemed is a sort 
of breastplate, formed of a strip of otter-skin six 
inches wide, cut out of the whole length of the back 
of the animal, including the head : this being dressed 
with the hair on, a hole is made in the upper end for 
the head of the wearer to pass through, and the skin 
hangs down in front, with the tail reaching below 
the knee, and ornamented with pieces of pearl, red 
cloth, wampum, or, in short, any other fanciful dec- 
oration. Tippets, also, are occasionally worn. That 
of Hohastillpilp was formed of human scalps, and 
adorned with the thumbs and fingers of the enemies 
he had slain in battle.* 

* And yet this chief belonged to a nation immediately after 
ward praised for their amiability. Such are the contradictions 
in the character of the wild, uncultivated, and ungoverned sav- 
age. This chief showed unbounded liberaUty, and the most 
hospitable attentions to the party. 



230 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION, 

"The Chopunnish are among the most amiable 
Indians we had seen. Their character is placid and 
gentle, rarely moved into passion, and not often en- 
livened by gayety. Their amusements consist in 
running races, and in shooting with arrows at a tar- 
get, and they are addicted to the all-prevailing vice 
of gambling. They are much less taken with baw- 
bles than the generality of Indians, and are chiefly 
anxious to obtain articles of utility, such as knives, 
tomahawks, kettles, blankets, and awls for making 
moccasins. They have also suffered so much from 
the superior equipment of their enemies, that they 
are very desirous of procuring arms and ammuni- 
tion, which they are gradually acquiring ; for the 
band of Tunnachemootoolt have already six guns, 
which they obtained from the Minnetarees. 

"The Chopunnish bury their dead in sepulchres 
formed of boards, and in shape like the roof of a 
house. The bodies are rolled in skins, and laid one 
above another, separated only by a board. We 
have sometimes seen their dead deposited in wood- 
en boxes, after being rolled in skins in the same 
manner. They sacrifice to the deceased their hor- 
ses, canoes, and every other species of property, and 
numerous bones of horses may be seen lying round 
their sepulchres." * * * 

" Among the reptiles common in this country is a 
species of lizard, which we called the horned lizard, 
about the size, and much resembling in figure the 
ordinary black lizard. Its belly is, however, broad- 
er, its tail shorter, and its action much slower than 
that of the common lizard. It crawls like the toad, 
and is of a brown colour variegated with yellowish 
brown spots : it is covered with minute shells, in- 
terspersed with little horny projections like prickles, 
on the upper part of the body. The belly and throat 
resemble that of the frog, and are of a light yellow- 
ish brown. The edges of the belly are regularly 
studded with these horny projections, which give to 



HORNED LIZARD. 231 

them a serrated appearance : the eye is small and 
of a dark colour. Above and behind the eyes are 
several bony projections, wliich, being armed at the 
extremities v^^ith a firm black substance, looking like 
horns sprouting from the head, induced us to call it 
the horned lizard. These animals are found in great 
abundance in the sandy parts of the plains, and af- 
ter a shower of rain are seen basking in the sun, 
but for the greater part of the time they are con- 
cealed in holes. They are also seen in great num- 
bers on the banks of the Missouri, and in the plains 
through which we passed above the Wollawollahs." 

* * * " Most of the insects of the United States 
are common here, though there is neither the hor- 
net, the wasp, nor the yellow-jacket, but an insect 
resembling the last of these, though much larger. 
They are very numerous, particularly in the Rocky 
Mountains and on the waters of the Columbia : the 
body and abdomen are yellow, with transverse cir- 
cles of black, the head black, and the wings, which 
are four in number, are of a dark brown colour; 
their nests are built in the ground, and resemble 
that of the hornet, with an outer covering to the 
comb. These insects are very fierce, and sting se- 
verely, so that we found them exceedingly trouble- 
some in frightening our horses as we passed the 
mountains. The silkworm is also found here, as 
well as the humble-bee, though the honey-bee is not." 

From the 18th to the 23d nothing of special inter- 
est occurred. For several days they had almost 
constant rains, and the hunters had very little suc- 
cess in killing game, so that they were very scan- 
tily supplied with food. The salmon, however, were 
soon expected, as they had received accounts of 
their having made their appearance in Lewis's River. 

" May 24. This proved the warmest day," says 
the Journal, " since our arrival. Besides adminis- 
tering medical relief to the Indians, we were now 
obliged to devote much of our time to the care of 



232 LEWIS AND Clarke's expeditiow. 

our own invalids. The child of Sacajawea was very 
unwell ; and with one of the men we had ventured 
an experiment of a very bold character. He had 
been for some time sick, but had now recovered his 
flesh, ate heartily, and digested well, but had so 
great a weakness in the loins that he could not walk, 
nor even sit upright without extreme pain. After 
we had in vain exhausted the resources of our art, 
one of the hunters mentioned that he had known 
persons in a similar situation restored by violent 
sweats, and at the request of the patient we permit- 
ted the remedy to be applied. For this purpose, a 
hole about four feet deep and three in diameter was 
dug in the earth, and heated well by a large fire in 
the bottom of it. The fire was then taken out, 
and an arch formed over the hole by means of wil- 
low poles, and covered with several blankets, so as 
to form a perfect awning. The patient, being strip- 
ped naked, was seated under this on a bench, with 
a piece of board for his feet, while with a jug of wa- 
ter he sprinkled the bottom and sides of the hole, so 
as to keep up as hot a steam .as he could bear. Af- 
ter remaining twenty minutes in this situation he 
was taken out, immediately plunged twice into cold 
water, and then brought back to the hole, where he 
was again subjected to the vapour bath. During all 
this time he drank copiously a strong infusion of 
horsemint, which was used as a substitute for the 
seneca root, which our informant said he had seen 
employed on these occasions, but of which there 
was none in this country. At the end of three quar- 
ters of an hour he was again withdrawn from the 
hole, carefully wrapped up, and suff'ered to cool 
gradually. The morning after this operation was 
performed he walked about, and was nearly free 
from pain. 

" About eleven o'clock a canoe arrived with three 
Indians, one of whom was the poor creature who 
had lost the use of his limbs, and for whose recov- 
ery the natives seemed very anxious, as he was a 



HOSPITALITY OF HOHASTILLPILP. 233 

chief of considerable rank among them. His situa- 
tion, however, was beyond the reach of our skill. 
He complained of no pain in any particular limb, and 
we therefore thought his disorder could not be 
rheumatic ; and his limbs would have been more 
attenuated if his disease had been a paralytic affec- 
tion." * * * 

The two following days the hunters failed alto- 
gether in obtaining game, but purchased a few roots, 
which they brought in. The Indians still remained 
at the encampment with their sick chief, discovering 
the most affectionate anxiety for his cure, and con- 
tinually sohciting that something farther might be 
done for him. The snows on the mountains were 
evidently disappearing, and on the 26th they were 
gladdened by the sight of a salmon in the river. 

" May 27. The horse the Indians had given us 
some time ago had gone astray, but in our present 
dearth of provisions we searched for him and killed 
him. Observing that we were in want of food, Ho- 
hastillpilp told us that most of the horses which we 
saw running at large belonged to him or his people, 
and that, whenever we wished for meat, we might 
take one without any restraint. We had, indeed, 
more than once, occasion to admire the generosity 
of this Indian, whose conduct presented a model of 
what is due to strangers in distress. A party was 
sent to a village that had been discovered the day 
before, and returned with a large supply of bread 
and roots. Sergeant Ordway and two men were 
also despatched to Lewis's River, about half a day's 
ride to the south, where we expected to obtain salm- 
on, which were said to be very abundant at that 
place. Three of our hunters returned with five 
deer." * * * "The Indians who attended the sick 
chief were so anxious to have the operation of 
sweating performed on him under our inspection, 
that we determined to gratify them by making the 
attempt. The hole was therefore enlarged, and tha 



234 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

father of the chief, a very good-looking old man, 
went in with him, and held him in a proper position. 
This strong evidence of affection is directly oppo- 
site to the received opinion of the insensibility of 
savages ; nor were we less struck with the kindness 
and attentions shown to the sick man by those who 
were wholly unrelated to him, and which was the 
more remarkable, as his long illness of three years 
might be supposed to have exhausted their sympa- 
thy. We could not produce as complete a perspi- 
ration as we desired, and after he w^as taken out he 
complained of suffering considerable pain, which we 
relieved with a few drops of laudanum, and he then 
rested well. The next morning, 

" May 28, he was able to use his arms, felt better 
than he had done for many months, and sat up du- 
ring the greater part of the day." * * * 

" May 29. The Indian chief was still rapidly re- 
covering, and for the first time during the last twelve 
months had strength enough to wash his face. We 
had intended to repeat the sweating to-day, but as 
the weather was cloudy, with occasional rain, we 
deferred it. This operation, though violent, appears 
highly efficacious ; for our own man, on whom the 
experiment was first made, is recovering his strength 
very fast, and the restoration of the chief is won- 
derful. He continued to improve, and on the fol- 
lowing day, 

" May 30, after a very violent sweating, was able 
to move one of his legs and some of his toes, the 
fingers and arms being almost entirely restored to 
their former strength." * * * 

" May 31. Two men visited the Indian village, 
where they purchased a dressed bearskin of a uni- 
form pale reddish brown colour, which the Indians 
called yachah, in contradistinction to hohhosf, or the 
white bear. This induced us to inquire more par- 
ticularly into their opinions as to the several species 
of bears ; and we produced all the skins of that ani- 



DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BEAR. 235 

nial which we had purchased. The natives imme- 
diately classed the white, the deep and the pale griz- 
zly red, the grizzly dark brown, in short, all those 
with the extremities of the hair of a white or frosty 
colour, without regard to the colour of the ground 
of the fur, under the name of hohhost. They as- 
sured us that they were all of the same species 
with the white bear; that they associated together, 
had longer nails than the others, and never dimbed 
trees. On the other hand, the animals with black 
skins, those which were black with a number of en- 
tire white hairs intermixed, or with a white breast, 
the uniform bay, and the brown and ligfit reddish 
brown, they ranged under the class yackah, and said 
they resembled each other in being smaller, in hav- 
ing shorter nails than the white bear, in climbing 
trees, and being so little vicious that they could be 
pursued with safety. This distinction of the In- 
dians seemed to be well founded, and we were in- 
clined to believe, 

" First, that the white or grizzly bear of this neigh- 
bourhood form a distinct species, which, moreover, 
are the same with those of the same colour on the 
upper part of the Missouri, where the other species 
is not found. 

"Second, that the black and reddish brown, &c., 
are a second species, equally distinct from the white 
bear of this country, and from the black bear on the 
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which last two seem to 
form only one species. The common black bear is 
indeed unknown in this country ; for the bear of 
which we are speaking, though in most respects 
similar, differs from it in having much finer, thicker, 
and longer hair, with a greater proportion of fur 
mixed with it, and also in having a variety of col- 
ours, while the common black bear has no intermix- 
lure or change of colour, but is of a uniform black.* 

* Townsend, in his Catalogue of the Quadrupeds of this 



236 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" In the course of the day the natives brought ua 
another of our original stock of horses, of which we 
had now recovered all except two ; and those, we 
were informed, were taken back by our Shoshonee 
guide when he returned home. They amounted to 
sixty-five, most of them fine, strong, active animals, 
and in excellent order." 

The next day, in crossing the river, they had the 
misfortune to lose all their remaining stock of mer- 
chandise. " We therefore," says the Journal, " cre- 
ated a new fund, by cutting oft' the buttons from our 
clothes, and preparing some eye-water and basilicon, 
to which were added a few vials and small tin box- 
es, in which we had once kept phosphorus. With 
these articles two men set out in the morning, 

" June 2, to trade, and brought home three bushels 
of roots and some bread. In the mean time sever- 
al hunters were sent out. The Indians informed us 
that there were great numbers of moose to the 
southeast of the east branch of Lewis's River, which 
they called the Tommanamah. We had lately heard, 
also, that some Indians, residing at a considerable 
distance, on the south side of the Kooskooskee, 
were in possession of two tomahawks, one of which 
had been left at our camp on Moscheto Creek, and 
the other had been stolen while we were with the 
Chopunnish in the autumn. This last we were 
anxious to obtain, in order to give it to the relations 
of our unfortunate companion, Sergeant Floyd, to 
whom it once belonged. We therefore sent Drew- 
yer, with the two chiefs Neeshnepahkeeook and 
Hohastillpilp, to demand it. On their arrival, they 
found that the present possessor of it, who had pur- 
chased it of the thief, was at the point of death ; 
and his relations were unwilling to give it up, as 

country, names four species of bears : The Grizzly Bear, or 
Ursus ferox of Zoologists ; the Black Bear, or Ursus Americana 
the Wiiite Bear, and the Brown Bear. 



IMPATIENCE OF THE PARTY TO LEAVE. 237 

they wished to bury it in the grave with the deceased. 
The influence of Neeshnepahkeeook, however, at 
length prevailed ; and they consented to surrender 
the tomahawk on receiving two strands of beads 
and a handkerchief from Drewyer, and from each 
of the chiefs a horse, to be killed at the funeral of 
their kinsman, according to the custom of the coun- 
try. 

" Soon after their return, Sergeant Ordway and 
his party, who had been sent to procure fish, and 
for whose safety we had become extremely anxious, 
came back from Lewis's River with some roots and 
seventeen salmon. The distance, however, from 
which they had been brought was so great, that 
most of them were nearly spoiled ; but such as 
were still sound were very delicious, the flesh being 
of a fine rose colour, with a small mixture of yellow, 
and so fat that they cooked perfectly well without 
the addition of any oil or grease." * * * 

" June 3. Finding that the salmon did not yet ap- 
pear along the shore, as the Indians had assured us 
they would, and that all the salmon which they 
themselves used were obtained from Lewis's River, 
we began to lose our hopes of subsisting on them. 
We were too poor, and at too great a distance from 
Lewis's River to obtain fish from thence ; and it was 
not probable that the river would fall sufficiently for 
the salmon to reach where we were before it would be 
necessary for us to leave. Our Indian friends were 
about sending an express over the mountains to 
Traveller's Rest, in order to procure intelligence 
from the Ootlashoots, a band of Flatheads who have 
wintered on the east side of the mountains ; and, as 
the route was deemed practicable for this express, 
we also proposed setting out. The Indians, however, 
dissuaded us from it, as many of the creeks, they said, 
were still too deep to be forded, the roads very heavy 
and slippery, and there was no grass yet for our hor- 
ses ; but that in twelve or fourteen days we should 
not have these obstacles to encounter." * ♦ * 



238 LEWIS AND Clarke's expl:dition. 

"During the two following days we continued 
hunting in our own neighbourhood, and by means of 
these efforts, and trading with the Indians for trifling 
articles, we succeeded in procuring as much bread 
and roots, besides other food, as would enable us to 
subsist while crossing the mountains. The old chiet 
in the mean time gradually recovered the use of hia 
limbs, and our own man was nearly restored to hia 
former health." * * * 

The next day they were informed by Neeshne- 
pahkeeook that his people would not accompany 
them to the Missouri, but that some of their young 
men, as they had before promised, should go with 
them. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

They join in the Diversions of the Willetpos Indians, a Tribe hith 
erto unnoticed. — Joy of the Party at the prospect of Return 
ing. — Vegetation of the Rocky Mountains. — Preparations to 
resume their Journey. — They set out, and arrive at Hungry 
Creek. — Difficulties that obstructed their Progress. — Com- 
pelled to return and wait for a Guide across the Mountains. — 
Their Distress for want of Provisions. — They resolve to re. 
turn to the Quamash Flats. — Are at last so fortunate as to 
procure Indian Guides, with whom they resume their Jour 
ney. — Dangers of the Route. — Scarcity of Provisions, and the 
Perils to \fhich they were exposed, their Course lying along 
the Ridge of the Mountains. — Description of the warm 
Springs, where the Party encamp. — Fondness of the Indians 
for bathing in them. 

On the 7th they were engaged in preparing packs 
and saddles for their journey, having now resolved 
to start as soon as circumstances would in any way 
permit. 

"June 8. Cut Nose visited us this morning with 



VISITED BY A PARTY OF WILLETPOS. 239 

ten or twelve warriors, among whom were two be- 
longing to a band of Chopunnish which we had not 
before seen, who called themselves Willetpos, and 
resided on the south side of Lewis's River. One of 
ihem gave a good horse which he rode in exchange 
for one of ours which was in no condition to cross 
the mountains, on receiving a tomahawk in addition. 
We were also so fortunate as to exchange two 
other horses for two that were much better, with- 
out giving anything else. After these important 
transactions, several foot-races were run between 
our men and the Indians: the latter, who are very 
active, and fond of these races, proved themselves 
very expert, and one of them was as fleet as our 
swiftest runners. After the races were over, the 
men divided themselves into two parties, and played 
at prison bars ; an exercise which we were desirous 
of encouraging, as several of the part)'^ were becom- 
ing lazy from inaction. At night these games were 
concluded by a dance. One of the Indians told us 
that we could not pass the mountains before the 
next full moon, or about the first of July ; and that, 
if we attempted it before that time, the horses would 
be three days without food on the top of the mount- 
ains. This intelligence was by no means agreeable, 
as it excited doubts as to the most proper time for 
starting; but, having become very impatient, we 
were determined to run all hazards, and leave as 
soon as the Indians generally considered the route 
practicable, which was about the middle of the pres- 
ent* month. 

* * * " June 9. Hohastillpilp, who had visited us 
\he day before, now left us, with other Indians, for 
!he plains near Lewis's River, where the whole na- 
tion were about to assemble. Broken Arm. too, with 
all his people, stopped on their way to the general 
rendezvous at the same place. Cut Nose, or Neesh- 
nepahkeeook, borrowed a horse, and rode down a 
few miles after some young eagles. He soon re- 
II T 



240 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

turned with two of the gray kind, nearly grown, 
which he intended to raise for the sake of the feath- 
ers. The young chief who had some time before 
made us a present of two horses, came with a par- 
ty of his people and passed the night with us." * * * 

The river had now fallen about six feet, which 
might be regarded as a sure indication that most of 
the snow had melted on the mountains. They con- 
cluded, however, that it would be most prudent still 
to wait a day or two longer before they finally set 
out on their journey. 

" June 10. After collecting our horses," proceeds 
the Journal, " which took much time, we set out at 
eleven o'clock for the Quamash Flats. Our stock was 
now very abundant, each man being well mounted, 
with a small load on a second horse, besides sever- 
al supernumerary ones, in case of accident or want of 
food. We ascended the river hills, which are very 
high, and three miles in extent; our course being 
north 220 east, and then north 15° west for two 
miles, till we reached Collins's Creek. It was deep 
and difficult to cross, but we passed without any in- 
jury except wetting some of our provisions, and 
then proceeded due north for five miles to the east- 
ern edge of the Quamash Flats, near where we had 
first met the Chopunnish in the autumn. We en- 
camped on the bank of a small stream, in a point 
of woods bordering an extensive level and beauti- 
ful prairie, which was intersected by several rivu- 
lets, and, as the quamash was now in blossom, pre- 
sented a perfect resemblance to a lake of clear water. 

" A party of Chopunnish, who had oyertaken us 
a few miles above, halted for the night with us, and 
mentioned that they too had come down to hunt in 
the flats, though we had fears that they expected us 
^o provide for them during their stay. 

" The country through which we passed was gen- 
erally free from stone, extremely fertile, and well 
supplied with timber, consisting of several species 



DIFFERENT SPECIES OF PLANTS. 241 

of fir, long-leafed pine, and larch. The undergrowth 
was chokecherry near the water-courses, and scat- 
tered through the country were black alder, a large 
species of the reed-root now in bloom, a plant re- 
sembling the pawpaw in its leaf, and bearing a berry 
with five valves of a deep purple colour. There 
were also two species of sumach, the purple haw, 
sevenbark, service-berry, gooseberry, the honey- 
suckle bearing a white berry, and a species of dwarf 
pine ten or twelve feet high, which might be con- 
founded with the young pine of the long-leafed spe- 
cies, except that the former bears a cone of a glob- 
ular form, with small scales, and that its leaves are 
in fascicles of two,resembhng in length and appear- 
ance the common pitch pine. We also observed 
two species of wild rose, both quinquepetalous, both 
of a damask red colour, and similar in the stem ; 
but one of them was as large as the common red 
rose of our gardens ; its leaf, too, is somewhat lar- 
ger than that of the other species of wild rose, and 
the apex, as we saw them last year, was more than 
three times the size of the common wild rose. 

" We saw many sandhill cranes, and some ducks 
in the marshes near our camp ; likewise a great num- 
ber of burrowing squirrels, some of which we kill- 
ed, and found them as tender and well-flavoured as 
our gray squirrels." 

The hunters were sent out in diff'erent directions 
the next day, but with very indifferent success. Be- 
ing determined to start in earnest in the morning, 
they cut up and dried what meat they had, packed 
their baggage, and hoppled their horses, to be in 
readiness at an early hour. 

" June 15. The horses," proceeds the Journal, 
" had strayed to such a distance that we could not 
collect them without great difficulty ; and, as it rain- 
ed very hard, we waited for it to abate. It soon, 
however, showed every appearance of a settled rain, 
a»^d we t>ierefore set out at ten o'clock. We cross- 



242 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ed the prairie at tk'e distance of eight miles, where 
we had sent our hunters, and found two deer which 
they had hung up for us. Two and a half miles far- 
ther we overtook them at CoUins's Creek : they had 
killed a third deer. After dining, we proceeded up 
the creek about half a mile ; then, crossing through 
a high, broken country for about ten miles, reached 
an eastern branch of the same creek, near which 
we encamped in the bottom, after a ride of twenty- 
two miles. The rains had made the road very sHp- 
pery, and this, joined to the quantity of fallen tim- 
ber, rendered our progress slow and laborious. The 
country through which we passed had a thick growth 
of long-leafed pine, with some pitch pine, larch, 
white pine, white cedar or arbor viice- of large size, 
and a variety of firs. The undergrowth gonsisted 
chiefly of reed-root, from six to ten feet in height, 
with the other species already enumerated. The 
soil was in general good, and had somewhat of a 
red cast, like that near the Southwest Mountain in 
Virginia. We saw in the course of our ride the 
speckled woodpecker and the bee-martin, and found 
^le nest of a humming-bird which had just begun to 
lay its eggs. 

"June 16. We readily collected our horses, and, 
having taken breakfast, proceeded at six o'clock up 
the creek, over handsome meadows of fine grass, 
and a great abundance of quamash. At the distance 
of two miles we crossed the creek, and ascended a 
ridge in a direction towards the northeast. Fallen 
timber still obstructed our way so much, that it was 
eleven o'clock before we had made seven miles to a 
small branch of Hungry Creek. In the hollows and 
on the north side of the hills large quantities of snow- 
still remained, in some places to the depth of two or 
three feet. Vegetation, too, was proportionably re- 
tarded, the dog-tooth violet being just in bloom, and 
the honeysuckle, whortleberry, and a small species 
of white maple were but beginning to put forth their 



COUNTRY STILIi COVERED WITH SNOW. 243 

leaves. These appearances, in a part of the country 
comparatively low, were ill omens of the practica- 
bility of crossing the mountains. But, being deter- 
mined to proceed, we halted merely to take a hasty 
meal while the horses were grazing, and then re- 
sumed our march. The route was through thick 
woods, and over high hills intersected by deep ra- 
vines and obstructed by fallen timber. We found 
much difficulty, also, in following the road, the great- 
er part of it being now covered with snow, which 
lay in large masses eight or ten feet deep, and would 
have been wholly impassable had it not been suffi- 
ciently firm to bear our horses. Early in the even- 
ing we reached Hungry Creek, at the place where 
Captain Clarke had left a horse for us as we passed 
in September ; and, finding a small glade with some 
grass, though not enough for our horses, we thought 
it better to halt for the night, lest by going farther 
we should find nothing for them to eat. Hungry 
Creek was small at this place, but deep, and dis- 
cliarged a torrent of water perfectly transparent, 
and cold as ice. During the fifteen miles of our 
route this day the principal timber was the pitch 
pine, the white pine, larch, and fir. The long-leafed 
pine extends but a small distance on this side of 
CoUins's Creek, and the white cedar does not reach 
beyond the branch of Hungry Creek on which we 
dined. In the early part of the day we saw the col- 
umbine, the blue bell, and the yellow flowering pea 
in bloom. There was also on these mountains a 
great quantity of angelica, stronger to the taste, and 
more highly scented, than that common in the Uni- 
ted States. The smell is very pleasant, and the na- 
tives, after drying and cutting it into small pieces, 
wear it in strings around their necks. 

" June 17. The air we found pleasant during the 
day, but, notwithstanding the shortness of the nights, 
it became very cold before morning. At an early 
hour we collected our horses and proceeded down 



244 LEWIS AND Clarke's, expedition. 

the creek, which we crossed twice with much diffi. 
culty and danger, on account of its depth and rapid- 
ity. We avoided two other crossings of the same 
4cind by passing over a steep and rocky hill. At 
the distance of seven miles, the road began to as- 
cend the main ridges which divide the waters of the 
Chopunnish and Kooskooskee Rivers. We followed 
it up a mountain for about three miles, when we 
found ourselves enveloped in snow, from twelve to 
fifteen feet in depth, even on the south side, with the 
fullest exposure to the sun. Winter now presented 
itself to us in all its rigours : the air was keen and 
frosty, no vestige of vegetation was to be seen, and 
our hands and feet were benumbed with cold. We 
halted at the sight of this new difficulty. 

" To wait till the snows on the mountains had dis- 
solved so as to enable us to distinguish the road, 
would, we knew, defeat our design of returning to 
the United Slates this season. We found, also, that 
as the snow bore our horses very well, travelling 
was infinitely easier than it had been last fall, when 
the rocks and fallen timber so much obstructed our 
march. But it would require five days to reach the 
fish-wears at the mouth of Colt Creek, even if we 
should succeed in following the proper ridges of the 
mountains ; and the danger of missing our way was 
exceedingly great, as every track was covered with 
snow. During these five days, too, we should have 
no chance of finding either grass or underwood for 
our horses. To proceed, therefore, under such cir- 
cumstances, would be to hazard our being bewilder- 
ed in the mountains, to ensure the loss of our horses, 
and, should we even be so fortunate as to escape 
with our lives, we might be obliged to abandon all 
our papers and collections. It was accordingly de- 
cided not to venture any farther ; to deposite here all 
the baggage and provisions for which we had no im- 
mediate use, and, reserving only subsistence for a 
few days, return, while our horses were yet strong, 



EFFORTS TO PROCURE A GUIDE. 245 

to some spot where we might hve by hunting till a 
guide could be procured to conduct us across the 
mountains. Our baggage was placed on scaffolds 
and carefully covered, as were also the instruments 
and papers, which we thought it safer to leave than 
to risk them over the roads and creeks by which we 
had come. Having completed this operation, we 
set out at one o'clock, and, retracing our steps, 
reached Hungry Creek, which we ascended for two 
miles, and, finding some scanty grass, encamped for 
the night. The rain fell during the greater part of 
the evening ; and, as this was the first time that we 
had ever been compelled to make a retrograde move- 
ment, we feared that it might depress the spirits of 
the men ; but, though somewhat dejected at the cir- 
cumstance, the obvious necessity precluded all re- 
pining. During the night our horses strayed in 
search of food to a considerable distance among the 
thick timber on the hill sides, nor could we collect 
them till nine o'clock the next morning, 

" June 18. Two of them were, however, still miss- 
ing, and we directed two of the party to remain and 
look for them. At the same time we despatched 
Drewyer and Shannon to the Chopunnish, in the 
plains beyond the Kooskooskee, in order to hasten 
the arrival of the Indians who it had been promised 
should accompany us, or, at any rate, to procure a 
guide to conduct us to Traveller's Rest. For this 
purpose they took a rifle, as a reward to any one 
who would engage to go with us, with directions to 
increase the reward, if necessary, by an offer of two 
other guns to be given immediately, and ten horses 
at the Falls of the Missouri : we then resumed our 
route." * * * They proceeded on to Collins's Creek, 
where they halted for the night. Although numer- 
ous tracks of deer were seen, the hunters did not 
succeed in killing any. 

They remained at their encampment on Collins's 
CJreek the two following days, but, as they had but 



246 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

little success in procuring game, they resolved to 
return to Quamash Flats. On the 19th, the two men 
who had been left behind returned, without having 
been able to find the missing horses. 

"June 21. The mortification of being obliged to 
retrace our steps," continues the Journal, " rendered 
still more tedious a route everywhere so obstructed 
by brush and fallen timber that it could not be pass- 
ed without difficulty, and even danger to our horses. 
One of these poor creatures wounded himself so 
badly in jumpmg over some fallen logs, that he was 
rendered unfit for use, and sickness had deprived us 
of the service of another. At the pass of Collins's 
Creek we met two Indians, who returned with us 
about half a mile to a spot where we had slept in 
September, and where we now halted to dine and let 
our horses graze. These Indians had four supernu- 
merary horses, and were on their way to cross the 
mountains. They had seen Drewyer and Shannon, 
who, they said, would not return for two days. We 
pressed them to remain with us till that time, in or- 
der to conduct us over the mountains ; to which 
they consented, and deposited their stores of roots 
and bread in the bushes at a little distance. After 
dinner we left three men to hum till our return, and 
then proceeded ; but we had not gone more than two 
miles, when the Indians halted in a small prairie, 
where they promised to remain at least two nights, 
if we did not come back sooner. We left them, and 
at about seven in the evening found ourselves at our 
old encampment on the Flats, and were glad to find 
that four of the hunters whom we had sent ahead 
had killed a deer for supper. 

" June 22. At daylight all the hunters set out, and, 
traversing the whole country, were much more suc- 
cessful than we had even hoped, for they brought in 
eight deer and three bear. Hearing, too, that salmon 
were now abundant in the Kooskooskee, we de- 
SDa<^oL>»ed a man to our former station above Ool- 



THEY OBTAIN TWO INDIAN GVIDHjTS. 247 

lins's Creek, for the purpose of purchasing some 
with a few beads which had been found accidentally 
in one of our waistcoat pockets. He did not return 
in the evening, nor had we heard from Drewyer and 
Shannon, who we began to fear had found much 
difficulty in engaging a guide ; and we were also ap- 
prehensive that the two Indians might set out the 
next day for the mountains. Early in the morning, 
therefore, 

" June 23, we despatched two hunters to prevail 
on them, if possible, to remain a day or two longer ; 
and if they persisted in going on, they were to ac- 
company them, with the three men at Collins's 
Creek, and mark the route as far as Traveller's Rest, 
wthere Ihey were to remain till we joined them by 
following the same road. 

" Our fears for the safety of D/ewyer, Shannon 
and Whitehouse were fortunately relieved by their 
return in the afternoon. The former brought three 
Indians, who promised to go with us to the Falls of 
the Missouri for the compensation of two guns. 
One of them was the brother of Cut Nose, and the 
other two had each given us a horse at the house 
of Broken Arm ; and as they were men of good 
character, and respectable in the nation, we had the 
fairest prospect of being well served. We therefore 
secured our horses near the camp, and at an early 
hour the next morning, 

"June 24, set out on our second attempt to cross 
the mountains. On reaching Collins's Creek we 
found only one of our men, who informed us that, a 
short time before he arrived, the two Indians, tired 
of waiting, had set out, and the other four men had 
accompanied them, as they were directed. After 
halting, we went on to Fish Creek, the branch of 
Hungry Creek where we had slept on the 19th in- 
stant. Here we overtook two of the party who had 
gone on with the Indians, and who had been fortu- 
nate enough to persuade them to wait for us. Du- 
ll— U 



248 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ring their stay at Collins's Creek they had killed only 
a single deer, and of this they had been very liber- 
al to the Indians, in order to induce them to remain, 
so that they were without provisions ; and two of 
ihem had set out for another branch of Hungry Creek, 
where we would meet them the next day. 

" In the evening, the Indians, to bring fair weath- 
er, as they said, for our journey, set fire to the 
woods. As these consisted chiefly of tall fir-trees, 
with very numerous dried branches, the blaze was 
almost instantaneous; and as the flames mounted 
to the tops of the highest trees, it resembled a splen- 
did display of fireworks. In the morning, 

" June 25, one of our guides complained of being 
sick : a symptom by no means pleasant, as sickness 
with an Indian is generally the pretext for abandon- 
ing an enterprise which he dislikes. He promised, 
however, to overtake us, and we therefore left him 
with his two companions, and set out at an early 
hour. At eleven o'clock we halted for dinner at the 
branch of Hungry Creek, and here we found our 
two men, who had killed nothing. Here, too, we 
were joined, rather unexpectedly, by our guides, who 
now appeared disposed to be faithful to their engage- 
ments. The Indian, indeed, was really sick ; and 
having no covering except a pair of moccasins and 
an elkskin dressed without the hair, we supplied him 
with a buff'alo robe. 

" In the evening we arrived at Hungry Creek, and 
halted for the night about a mile and a half below 
our encampment of the 16th. 

" June 26. Having collected our horses and taken 
breakfast, we set out at six o'clock, pursuing our for- 
mer route, and at length began to ascend for the 
second time the ridge of mountains. Near the 
snowy region we killed two small black pheasants 
and one of the speckled kind. These birds general- 
ly frequent the higher parts of the mountains, where 
they feed on the leaves of the pine and fir; but both 



DIFFICULTIES IN CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS. 249 

kinds appear to be solitary and silent, as we never 
heard either of them make any noise : and the In- 
dians told us that they did not drum in flying, nor 
make a whirring sound with their wings. On reach- 
ing the top of the mountain, we found our deposite 
perfectly safe. The snow in the neighbourhood had 
melted nearly four feet since the 17th. By measur- 
ing it accurately, and comparing it with a mark 
which we had then made, we found the general depth 
to have been ten feet ten inches, though in some 
places still greater ; but at this time it was. about 
seven feet. It required two hours to arrange our 
baggage and prepare a hasty meal, after which the 
guides urged us to set off, as we had a long ride to 
make before we should reach a spot where there 
was grass for our horses. We accordingly mount- 
ed, and, following their steps, sometimes crossed 
abruptly steep hills, and then wound along their sides, 
near tremendous precipices, where, had our horses 
slipped, we should have been irrecoverably lost. 
Our route lay along the ridgy mountains which sep- 
arate the waters of the Kooskooskee and Chopun- 
nish, and above the heads of all the streams, so that 
we met no running water. The whole country was 
completely covered with snow, except occasionally 
a few square feet of earth at the roots of some trees, 
round which it had dissolved. We passed our camp 
of the 18th of September, and late in the evening 
reached a spot where we encamped, near a good 
spring of water. It was on the steep side of a mount- 
ain, with no wood, and a fair southern aspect, from 
which the snow seemed to have disappeared for about 
ten days, and an abundant growth of young grass, like 
greensward, had sprung up. There was also a species 
of grass not unhke flag, with a broad succulent leaf. 
And which is confined to the upper parts of the high- 
est mountains. It is a favourite food with horses, 
but it was then either covered with snow, or just 
making its appearance. There is a third plant pe- 



250 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

culiar to the same regions, a species of whortleber- 
ry; and there are also large quantities of a species 
of bear-grass, which, though it grows luxuriantly 
over all these mountains, and preserves its verdure 
during the whole winter, is never eaten by horses. 

" In the night there came to our camp a Chopun- 
nish, who had followed us with the view of accom- 
panying us to the Falls of the Missouri. We now 
learned that the two young Indians whom we had 
met on the 21st, and detained several days, were 
merely going on a party of pleasure to the Ootia- 
shoots, or, as they call them, Shallees, a band of 
Tushepahs who live on Clarke's River, near Trav- 
eller's Rest. Early the next morning, 

"June 27, we resumed our journey over the 
heights and steep hills of the same great ridge. At 
eight miles' distance we reached an eminence where 
the Indians had raised a conical mound of stone, six 
or eight feet high, on which was fixed a pine pole 
about fifteen feet high. Here we halted and smoked 
for some time, at the request of the Indians, who 
told us that, in passing the mountains with their fam- 
ilies, some men are usually sent on foot from this 
place to fish at the entrance of Colt Creek, rejoining 
the main party at the Ruamash Glade at the head 
of the Kooskooskee. From the elevated point where 
we now were, we had a commanding view of the 
surrounding mountains, which so completely enclo- 
sed us, that, although we had once passed them, we 
might have almost despaired of ever escaping from 
them but for the assistance of the Indians. The 
marks on the trees, which had been our chief de- 
pendance, were much fewer and more difficult to be 
distinguished than we had expected ; but our guides 
traversed this trackless region with a kind of in- 
stinctive sagacity : they never hesitated, nor were 
they ever embarrassed ; and so unerring was their 
course, that wherever the snow had disappeared for 
even a hundred paces, they found at once the sum- 



HARDNESS OF THE SNOW. 251 

mer road. With their aid the snow was scarcely a 
disadvantage; for, although we were often obliged to 
slide down, the fallen timber and the rocks, which 
were now covered, had been much more trouble- 
some when we passed in the autumn. The travel- 
ling was, indeed, comparatively pleasant, as well as 
more rapid, the snow being granular and without 
crust, and sufficiently hard to prevent the horses 
from sinking more than two or three inches. After 
the sun had been on it for some hours it became 
softer than early in the morning, but the horses were 
almost always able to get a sure foothold. 

"After some time we resumed our route, and at 
the distance of three miles descended a steep mount- 
ain-, when, crossing two branches of the Chopunnish 
River just above their forks, we began to mount a 
second ridge. Along this we proceeded for some 
time, and at the distance of seven miles reached our 
camp of the 16th of September. Near this place 
we crossed three small branches of the Chopunnish, 
and then ascended a second dividing ridge, along 
which we continued for nine miles, when it became 
somewhat lower, and we halted for the night in a 
position similar to that where we had encamped the 
preceding evening. 

"We had now travelled twenty-eight miles with- 
out taking the loads from our horses or giving them 
anything to eat ; and as the snow where we halted 
had not entirely melted, there was but little grass. 
Among other plants we observed great quantities of 
the white lily, with reflected petals, which were now 
in bloom, and in the same forwardness as in the 
plains on the 10th of May. As for ourselves, our 
stock of meat being entirely gone, we distributed to 
each mess a pint of bear's oil, which, with some 
boiled roots, made an agreeable repast. We saw 
several black-tailed or mule-deer, but could not gel 
a shot at them, and were informed that there were 
great numbers of elk in the valley, near the fishery 



252 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

on the Kooskooskee. The Indians also asserted 
that on the mountains to our right there were large 
numbers of what they call white buffalo, or mount- 
ain sheep. Our horses had strayed some distance 
in quest of food, and in the morning, 

" June 28, when they were brought in, exhibited 
rather a gaunt appearance. The Indians promised, 
however, that we should reach some good grass by 
noon, and we set out after an early breakfast. Our 
route lay along the dividing ridge and across a very 
deep hollow, till at the distance of six miles wfc 
reached our camp of the 15th of September. A mile 
and a half farther we passed a road from the right, 
immediately on the dividing ridge, leading to the 
fishery. We went on, as we had done during the 
former part of the route, over deep snows, when, 
having made thirteen miles, we came to the side of 
a mountain just above the fishery, which, having no 
timber and a southern exposure, the snow had dis- 
appeared from it, and there was an abundance of fine 
grass. Our horses were very hungry as well as 
greatly fatigued, and as there was no other spot 
within our reach this evening where we should find 
food for them, we determined to encamp, though it 
was not yet midday. As there was no water in the 
neighbourhood, we melted snow for cooking, and 
early in the morning, 

" June 29, continued along the ridge we had been 
following for several days, till at the end of five miles 
it terminated ; and now, bidding adieu to the snows 
which we had been traversing, we descended to the 
main branch of the Kooskooskee. On reaching the 
water side we found a deer which had been left for 
us by two of our hunters, who had been despatched 
at an early hour to the warm springs, and which 
proved a very seasonable addition to our food ; for, 
having neither meat nor oil, we were reduced to a 
diet of roots, without salt or any other addition. At 
this place (about a mile and a half from the point 



WARM SPRINGS. 253 

where Quamash Creek falls m from the northeast) 
the Kooskooskee is ahout thirty yards wide, and 
runs with great velocity over a bed, like those of all 
the mountain streams, composed of pebbles. We 
forded the river, and ascended for two miles the 
steep acclivities of a mountain, and at its summit 
found, coming in from the right, the old road which 
we had passed on our route in the autumn. It was 
now much plainer and more beaten, which the In- 
dians told us was owing to the frequent visits of the 
Ootlashoots from the valley of Clarke's River to the 
fishery, though there was no appearance of their 
having been here this spring. Twelve miles from 
our camp we halted to graze our horses on the flats 
of the Quamash Creek. These form a handsome 
plain of fifty acres in extent, covered with an abun- 
dance of quamash, and seem to be one of the princi- 
pal stopping places of the Indians in crossing the 
mountains. We saw here several young pheasants, 
and killed one of the small black kind, which was the 
first we had observed below the region of snow. In 
the neighbourhood were also seen the tracks of two 
barefoot Indians, w^hich our companions supposed 
to be Ootlashoots who had fled in distress from the 
Pahkees. Here, too, we discovered that two of our 
horses were missing. We sent two men in quest 
of them, and then went on seven miles farther to the 
warm springs, where we arrived early in the after- 
noon. The two hunters who had been sent forward 
in the morning had collected no game, nor were sev- 
eral others who went out after our arrival more 
successful. We therefore had a prospect of contin- 
uing our usual diet of roots, when late in the after- 
noon the men returned with the stray horses and a 
deer for supper. 

" These warm springs are situated at the foot of 
a hill on the north side of Travellers Rest Creek, 
which is ten yards wide at this place. They issue 
from the bottoms and through the interstices of a 



254 LEWIS AJsD CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

gray freestone rock, which rises in irregular masses 
round their lower side. The principal spring, which 
the Indians have formed into a bath by stopping the 
run with stones and pebbles, is of about the same 
temperature as the warmest bath used at the Hot 
Springs in Virginia. Captain Lewis could with dif- 
ficulty remain in it nineteen minutes, and was then 
affected with a profuse perspiration. The two other 
springs are much hotter, their temperature being 
equal to that of the warmest of the Hot Springs in 
Virginia. Our men, as well as the Indians, amused 
themselves with going into the bath; the latter, ac- 
cording to the universal custom among them, first 
entering the hot bath, where they remained as long 
as they could bear the heat, then plunging into the 
creek, which was now of an icy coldness, and re- 
peating this operation several tim.es, but always 
ending with the warm bath." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The Party, proceeding on their Journey with their Indian 
Guides, agree to divide, take separate Routes, and meet again 
at the Mouth of the Yellowstone River. — Captain Lewis, 
with nine Men, proceeds up the eastern Branch of Clarke's 
River, and takes leave of the Jndian Guides.— Description of 
that Branch, and Character of the surrounding Country. — 
The Cokalahishkit River. — They arrive at the Ridge dividing 
the Missouri from the Columbia River. — Meet with the Buffalo 
and Brown Bear. — Immense Herds of Buffalo seen on the 
Borders of Medicine River. — The Party encamp on White 
Bear Island. — Singular Adventure that befell M'Neil. — Cap- 
tain Lewis, with three of his Party, proceeds to explore the 
Source of Maria's River. — Tansy River. — He reaches the di- 
viding Line of these two Streams.— General Character of the 
surrounding Country. 

The next day they proceeded along Traveller's 
Rest Creek, and, after making thirty-two miles^ 



THE PARTY TAKE DIFFERENT ROUTES. 255 

halted for the night on its south side, near where it 
enters Clarke's River. In the course of the day 
they killed six deer, oj" which there were great num- 
bers, as well as bighorn and elk, in the neighbourhood. 

"July 1. We had now," continues the Journal, 
" made one hundred and fifty-six miles from the 
Quamash Flats to the mouth of Traveller's Rest 
Creek. Here we proposed to separate ; and it was 
accordingly resolved to remain a day or two, to re- 
fresh ourselves and the horses, which had borne the 
journey extremely well, and were still in fine order, 
though they required a little jrest. We had hoped 
to meet some of the Ootlashoots at this place, but 
no tracks of them were to be seen. Our Indian 
companions expressed much anxiety lest they should 
have been cut off by the Pahkees during the winter, 
and alluded to the tracks of the two barefooted per- 
sons as a proof how much they must have been 
distressed. 

" We now formed the following plan of opera- 
tions : Captain Lewis, with nine men, was to pursue 
the most direct route to the Falls of the Missouri, 
where three of his party were to be left, to prepare 
carriages for transporting the baggage and canoes 
across the portage. With the remaining six he was 
to ascend Maria's River, to explore the country, and 
ascertain whether any branch of it reached as far 
north as the latitude of fifty degrees, after which he 
would descend that river to its mouth. The rest of 
the party were to accompany Captain Clarke to the 
head of Jefferson River, which Sergeant Ordway 
and nine men would descend with the canoes and 
other articles deposited there. Captain Clarke's 
party, which would then be reduced to ten, would 
proceed to the Yellowstone at its nearest approach 
to the Three Forks of the Missouri, where he would 
build canoes, descend that river with seven of his 
party, and wait at its mouth till the rest should join 
him. Sergeant Pryor, with the two others, would 



256 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

take the horses by land to the Mandans, and from 
that nation go to the British posts on the Assiniboin, 
with a letter to Mr. Henry, to induce him to endeav- 
our to prevail on some of the Sioux chiefs to ac- 
company him to the city of Washington." 

Having concluded on these arrangements, they bu- 
sied themselves with putting their arms in order : 
the hunters were also sent out, and had good sue 
cess in killing deer. 

" The Indians who had accompanied us," pro- 
ceeds the narrative, " proposed leaving us here, in 
order to seek their friends the Ootlashoots ; but we 
prevailed on them to accompany Captain Lewis a 
part of his route, so as to show him the shortest 
road to the Missouri, and in the mean time amused 
them with conversation, and with running races both 
on foot and on horseback, in both of which they 
proved themselves hardy, athletic, and active. To 
the chief Captain Lewis presented a small medal 
and a gun, as a reward for having guided us across 
the mountains; and, in return, the customary civility 
was observed of exchanging names, by which the 
former acquired the title of Yomekollick, or White 
Bearskin Unfolded. The Chopunnish who had over- 
taken us on the 26th made us a present of an ex- 
cellent horse for the good advice we had given him, 
and as a proof, also, of his attachment to the whites, 
and of his desire to be at peace with the Pahkees. 
The next morning, 

"July 3, all our preparations being completed, we 
saddled our horses, and the two parties which had 
been so long companions now separated, with an 
anxious hope of soon meeting, after each had ac- 
complished its destined purpose. 

" The nine men and five Indians who accompanied 
Captain Lewis proceeded in a direction due north, 
down the west side of Clarke's River. Half a mile 
from the camp we forded Traveller's Rest Creek, 
and two and a half miles farther passed a western 



THEIR GUIDES LEAVE THEM. 257 

branch of the river : one mile beyond this was a 
small creek on the eastern side, and a mile lower 
down, the entrance of the eastern branch of the riv- 
er. This stream is from ninety to one hundred and 
twenty yards wide, and its waters, which are dis- 
charged through two channels, were more turbid 
than that of the main river. The latter is one hun- 
dred and fifty yards in width, and waters an exten- 
sive level plain and prairie, the lower parts of which 
are ornamented with the long-leafed pine and cotton- 
wood, while the tops of the hills are covered with 
pine, larch, and fir. We proceeded two miles far- 
ther, to a place where the Indians advised us to 
cross ; but, having no boats, and wood being scarce, 
four hours were spent in collecting sufficient timber 
to make three small rafts, on which, with some dif- 
ficulty and danger, we passed the river. We then 
drove our horses into the water, and they swam to 
the opposite shore ; but the Indians crossed on horse- 
back, drawing, at the same time, their baggage along- 
side of them, in small vessels made of deerskin. 
The whole party being now reassembled, we pro- 
ceeded three miles farther, and encamped about sun- 
set at a small creek. The Indians now pointed out 
to us a road at no great distance, which, they said, 
would lead up the eastern branch of Clarke's River, 
to another river called Cokalahishkit, or the River 
of the Road to the Buffaloes, and thence to Medicine 
River and the Falls of the Missouri. They added, 
that not far from the dividing ridge of the waters of 
Clarke's River and the Missouri the roads forked, 
and, though both led to the Falls, the left-hand route 
was the best. The road was so well beaten that we 
could no longer mistake it, and, having now shown 
us the way, they were anxious to go on in qu-est of 
their friends the Shalees ; besides which, they fear- 
ed, by venturing farther with us, that they might en- 
counter the Pahkees, we having in the afternoon 
seen the fresh track of a horse, which they believed 



258 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

to be that of a Shalee scout. We could not insist 
on their remaining longer with us; and as they had 
60 kindly conducted us across the mountains, we 
were desirous of giving them a supply of provisions, 
and therefore distributed to them the half of three 
deer, and our hunters were ordered to go out early 
in the morning in hopes of adding to the stock. 

" The horses suffered so dreadfully from the raos- 
chetoes, that we were obliged to kindle large fires, 
and place the poor animals in 1;he midst of the 
smoke." * * * 

" July 4. We smoked a farewell pipe with our es- 
timable Indian companions, who expressed the great- 
est regret at parting with us, which they felt the 
more, because of their fears, which they did not con- 
ceal, of our being cut off by the Pahkees. We also 
gave them a shirt, a handkerchief, and a small quan- 
tity of ammunition. The meat which they received 
from us they dried, and left it at this place as a stock 
for their homeward journey. This circumstance 
convinced us that there was no route along Clarke's 
River to the plains on the Columbia so near or so 
good as that by which we had come ; for, although 
these people meant to go several days' journey down 
the former river to look for th3 Shalees, yet they 
intended returning home by the same pass of the 
mountains through which they had conducted us. 
This route is used also by all the nations with whom 
we became acquainted west of the mountains that 
are in the habit of visiting the plains of the Missou- 
ri ; while, on the other side, all the war-paths of the 
Pahkees, which run into this valley of Clarke's Riv- 
er, concentrate at Traveller's Rest, beyond which 
these people have never ventured to the west." * * * 

After taking leave of their Indian friends, they 
proceeded up the eastern branch of Clarke's River 
for ten miles, when they came to the Cokalahishkit, 
a deep and rapid stream, sixty yards broad, empty- 
ing into it ; an(f turning up this stream in a due east 



PRAIRIE OF THE KNOBS. 259 

course, at the distance of eight miles they encamp- 
ed for the night. 

The road continued to extend along this river most 
of the following day, during which they came to a 
considerable stream emptying into it from the north, 
which they called Werner's Creek ; and, after ma- 
king a distance of twenty-eight miles, they encamped 
near the entrance of another creek, to which they 
gave the name of Seaman's Creek. The country 
through which they passed consisted of plains and 
prairies. 

" July 6. At sunrise," proceeds the Journal, " we 
continued our course eastward along the river. At 
seven miles' distance we passed the north fork of 
the Cokalahishkit, a deep and rapid stream, forty- 
five yards in width, and, like the main branch itself, 
somewhat turbid, though the other streams of this 
country are clear. Seven miles farther the river 
enters the mountains, and here end the extensive 
prairies on this side, though they widen in their 
course towards the southeast, and form an Indian 
route to Dearborn's Hiver, and thence to the Missou 
ri. From the multitude of knobs irregularly scat- 
tered through this country. Captain Lewis called it 
the Prairie of the Knobs. It abounds in game, as 
we saw goats, deer, great numbers of the burrow- 
ing squirrels, some curlews, bee-martins, woodpeck- 
ers, plover, robins, doves, ravens, hawks, ducks, a 
variety of sparrows, and yesterday observed swans 
on Werner's Creek. Among the plants we observ- 
ed the southern wood, and two other species of 
shrubs, of which we preserved specimens." * * * 

" July 7. W^e proceeded through a beautiful plain," 
says the Journal, " on the north side of the river, 
which seemed here to abound in beaver. On the 
low grounds there was much timber, and the hills 
were covered chiefly with pitch pine, that of the 
long-leafed kind having disappeared since we left the 
Prairie of the Knobs. At the distance of twelve 



260 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

miles we left the river, or rather the creek, and hav- 
ing for four miles crossed two ridges in a direction 
north 15° east, again struck to the right, proceeding 
through a narrow bottom covered with low willows 
and grass, and abundantly supplied with both deer 
and beaver. After travelling seven miles we reach- 
ed the foot of a ridge, which we ascended in a direc- 
tion north 45° east, through a low gap of easy as- 
cent from the westward ; and, on descending it, were 
delighted at discovering that this was the dividing 
ridge between the waters of the Columbia and those 
of the Missouri. From this gap Fort Mountain is 
about twenty miles in a northeastern direction. 
We now wound through the hills and mountains, 
passing several rivulets which ran to the right, and 
at the distance of nine miles from the gap encamped, 
having made thirty-two miles. We procured some 
beaver, and this morning saw tracks of buffalo, 
from which it appears that those animals do some- 
times penetrate a short distance among the mount- 
ains. 

" July 8. At three miles from our camp we reach- 
ed a stream issuing from the mountains to the south- 
west. It contains water only for a width of thirty 
feet, but its bed is more than three times that breadth, 
and from the appearance of the roots and trees in 
the neighbouring bottom, its current must sometimes 
run with great violence : we called it Dearborn's 
River. Half a mile farther we observed from a 
height the Shishequaw Mountain, a high, insula- 
ted eminence of a conical form, standing several 
miles in advance of the eastern range of the Rocky 
Mountains, and then about eight miles from us, and 
immediately on our road, which was in a northwest 
direction. But, as our object was to strike Medicine 
River, and hunt down to its mouth, we determined 
to leave the road, and therefore proceeded due north, 
through an open plain, till we reached Shishequaw 
Creek, a stream about twenty yards wide, with a 



FIRST APPEARANCE OF BUFFALO. 261 

considerable quantity of timber on its low grounds. 
Here we halted and dined ; and now felt, by the lux- 
ury of our food, that we were approaching once more 
the plains of the Missouri, so rich in game. We 
saw a great number of deer, goats, and wolves, and 
some barking squirrels, and for the first time caught 
a distant prospect of two buffalo. After dinner we 
followed the Shishequaw for six and a half miles, to 
its entrance into Medicine River, and along the banks 
of this river for eight miles, when we encamped on 
a large island. The bottoms continued low, level, 
and extensive ; the plains, too, were level ; but the 
soil of neither was fertile, as it consisted of a hght- 
coloured earth intermixed with a proportion of grav- 
el : the grass in both was generally about nine inch- 
es high. Captain Lewis here shot a large wolf, re- 
markable for being almost white. We had made 
twenty eight miles." * * * 

It rained the whole of the next day, and they ad- 
vanced but eight miles, over extensive bottom lands 
tolerably well supplied with the narrow-leafed Cot- 
tonwood. 

" July 10. We set out early, and proceeded through 
a country similar to that of yesterday, with wide- 
leafed Cottonwood occasionally along the borders of 
the bottoms, though for the most part the low grounds 
were without timber. In the plains were great 
quantities of two species of prickly pear, then in 
bloom. Gooseberries of the common red kind were 
in abundance, and just beginning to ripen, but there 
were no currants. The river had now widened to 
a hundred yards ; was deep, crowded with islands, 
and in many parts rapid. At the distance of seven- 
teen miles the timber disappeared totally from the 
bottoms. About this time the wind, which had be- 
fore blown on our backs, and put the elk on their 
guard, shifted round, and we shot three of them and 
a brown bear. Captain Lewis halted to skin them, 
while two of the men took the pack-horses forward 



262 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

to seek for a place to encamp. It was nine o'clock 
before he overtook them, at the distance of seven 
miles, in the first grove of cottonwood. They had 
been pursued as they came along by a very large 
bear, on which they were afraid to fire, lest their 
horses, being unaccustomed to the report of a gun, 
might take fright and throw them. This circum- 
stance reminded us of the ferocity of these animals 
when we were before near this place, and admonish- 
ed us to be very cautious. We saw vast numbers 
of buffalo below us, which kept up a dreadful bellow- 
ing during the night. With all our exertions we were 
unable to advance more than twenty-four miles, 
owing to the miry state of the ground, occasioned 
by the rain. The next morning, however, 

"July 11, was fair, and enlivened by multitudes 
of birds, which sang delightfully in the clusters of 
cottonwood. The hunters were sent down Medi- 
cine River in pursuit of elk, while Captain Lewis 
crossed the high plain, in a direction 75° east, to 
White Bear Island, a distance of eight miles, and 
here they joined him. They had seen some elk; 
but in this neighbourhood the buffalo were in such 
numbers, that on a moderate computation there could 
not have been fewer than ten tnousand within a cir- 
cuit of two miles. At this season they are heard 
bellowing in every direction, so as to form an al- 
most continual roar, which at first alarmed our hor- 
ses, which, being from the west of the mountains, 
were unaccustomed to the noise and appearance of 
these animals. Among the smaller game were the 
brown thrush, pigeons, doves, and a beautiful bird 
called the buffalo-pecker. 

"Immediately on our arrival we began to hunt, 
and by three in the afternoon had collected a stock 
of food and hides sufficient for our purpose. We 
then made two canoes, one in the form of a basin, 
like those used by the Mandans, the other consisting 
of two skins, in a form of our own invention. They 
were completed the next morning. 



«t ^ . ^fTT^" 



CACHE overflow; ED. 263 

" July 12 ; but the wind continued so high that it 
was not till towards night that we could cross the 
river in them. In the meau time nearly the whole 
day was consumed in seeking after our horses, which 
had disappeared during the night; and seven of them 
were not recovered at dark, Drewyer being still in 
quest of them," * * * 

" July 13. We formed our camp this morning at 
our old station, near the head of White Bear Island, 
and immediately set to work in making gear. On 
opening the cache, we found the bearskins entirely 
destroyed by the water, which in a flood of the riv- 
er had penetrated to them. All the specimens of 
plants, too, were unfortunately lost : the chart of 
the Missouri, however, still remained unhurt, and 
several articles contained in trunks and boxes had 
suffered but little injury; but a vial of laudanum 
had lost its stopper, and the liquid had run into a 
drawer of medicines, which it spoiled beyond recov- 
ery. The moschetoes were so troublesome that 
it was impossible even to write without a moscheto 
bier. The buffalo were leaving us fast, on their 
way to the southeast. 

" July 14. We continued making preparations for 
transporting our articles, and, as the old deposite was 
too damp, we secured the trunks on a high scaifold, 
covered with skins, among the thick brush on a large 
island : a precaution against the Indians, should they 
visit us before the main party arrived. The car- 
riage wheels were in good order, and the iron frame 
of the boat had not suffered materially. The buffalo 
had now nearly disappeared, leaving behind them a 
number of large wolves who were prowling about us. 
" July 15. To our great joy, Drewyer now return- 
ed from his long search after the horses ; for we had 
concluded from his protracted stay that he had prob- 
ably met with a bear, and with his usual intrepidity 
attacked the animal, in which case, if by any accident 
he had been separated from his horse, his death waa 
II.— X 



264 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

almost inevitable. Under this impression, we had 
resolved to set out in quest of him, when his return 
relieved us from our apprehensions. He had search- 
ed for two days before he discovered that the hor- 
ses had crossed Dearborn's River, near a spot where 
there was an Indian encampment, which seemed to 
have been abandoned about the time the animals 
were stolen, and around which so much caution had 
been used, that no trace of a horse was to be seen 
within the distance of a quarter of a mile. He 
crossed the river and pursued the track of these In- 
dians westward, till his horse became so much fa- 
tigued that he despaired of overtaking them, and 
then returned. These Indians we supposed to be a 
party of Tushepaws, who had ventured out of the 
mountains to hunt buffalo. 

" During the day we were engaged in drying meat 
and dressing skins. At night M'Neal, who had been 
sent in the morning to examine the cache at the low- 
er end of the portage, returned, but had been pre- 
vented from reaching that place by a singular adven- 
ture. Just as he arrived near Willow Run, he ap- 
proached a thicket of brush in which was a white 
bear, which he did not discover till he was within 
ten feet of him ; when his horse started, and, wheel- 
ing suddenly round, threw him almost immediately 
under the animal. M'Neal started up instantly, and, 
finding the bear raising himself on his hind feet to 
attack him, struck him on the head with the butt 
end of his musket. The blow was so violent that it 
broke the breech of the musket and knocked the 
bear to the ground ; and, before he recovered, M'Neal 
sprang into a willow-tree which he saw close by, 
and remained there, while the bear closely guarded 
the foot of it, till late in the afternoon. He then 
went off, when M'Neal came down, and, having 
found his horse, which had strayed to the distance 
of two miles, returned to camp. These animals 
are, indeed, terribly ferocious ; and it is matter of 



FALLS OF MEDICINE RIVER. 265 

wonder, that in all our encounters with them we 
should have had the good fortune to escape unhurt. 
We were now troubled with another enemy, not 
quite so dangerous, though even more disagreeable: 
these were the moschetoes, which swarmed around 
us in such myriads that we frequently got them into 
our throats when breathing, and the dog howled 
with the torture they occasioned. Having now ac- 
complished the object of our stay, Captain Lewis 
determined to leave Sergeant Gass, with two men 
and four horses, to assist the party who were ex- 
pected, in carrying our effects over the portage, 
while he, with Drewyer, the two Fields, and six hor- 
ses, proceeded to the sources of Maria's River. 
Accordingly, early in the morning, 

" July 16, he descended in a skin canoe to the 
lower side of Medicine River, where the horses had 
previously been sent, and then rode with his party 
to the fall of forty-seven feet, where he halted for 
two hours to dine, and took a sketch of the cascade. 
In the afternoon they proceeded to the Great Falls, 
near which they slept, under a shelving rock, with a 
happy exemption from moschetoes. These falls had 
lost much of their grandeur since they were before 
seen, the river being now much lower, though they 
still formed a most sublime spectacle. As we came 
along we met several white bears, but they did not 
venture to attack us. There were but few buffalo, 
however, they having principally passed the river, 
and directed their course downward. As usual, 
there were great numbers of goats and antelopes 
dispersed over the plains, and we saw large flocks 
of geese, which raise their young about the entrance 
of Medicine River. We observed here, also, the 
cuckoo, or, as it is sometimes called, the raincraw, 
a bird which is not known either among or west of 
the Rocky Mountains. 

"July 17. After taking a second draught of the 
Falls, Captain Lewis directed his course north 10'' 



266 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

west, with an intention of striking Maria's River at 
the point to which he had ascended in 1804. The 
country here spreads into wide level plains, swell- 
ing like the ocean, in which the eye is unattracted by 
the appearance of a single tree or shrub, and which 
are diversified only by the moving herds of buffalo. 
The soil consists of a light-coloured earth, inter- 
mixed with a large proportion of coarse gravel, 
without sand, and is by no means as fertile as either 
the plains on the Columbia, or those lower down the 
Missouri. When dry it cracks, and is hard and 
thirsty, while in its wet state it is soft and slimy 
like soap. The grass is naturally short, and at this 
time was still more so, from the recent passage of 
the buffalo." * * * 

" The tribes which principally frequent this coun- 
try are the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie and the 
Blackfoot Indians, both of whom are vicious and 
profligate rovers ; and we had, therefore, everything 
to fear : not only that they might steal our horses, 
but even our arms and baggage, if they were suffi- 
ciently strong." 

After proceeding about twenty miles they came 
to Tansy River, and as they would not be able to 
reach Maria's River before night, they encamped 
there. 

" July 18. A little before sunrise," proceeds the 
Journal, " we started on a course north 25° west, 
which we continued for six miles, when we reached 
the top of a high plain which divides the waters of 
Maria and Tansy Rivers ; and a mile farther came 
to a creek of the former, about twenty-five yards 
wide, though without water except in a few pools 
in its bed. Down this creek we proceeded for 
twelve miles, through thick groves of timber on ita 
banks, passing such immense numbers of buffalo 
that the whole seemed to be but a single herd. Ac- 
companying them were multitudes of wolves, and 
besides these we saw some antelope and hare. Af- 



fHEY REACH THE FORKS OF MARIa's RIVER. 267 

ter dinner we left this creek, which we called Buf- 
falo Creek, and, crossing the plain for six miles, came 
to Maria's River, where we encamped iti a grove of 
Cottonwood on its western side, keeping watch 
through the night lest we should be surprised by the 
Indians." 

The two following days they continued their jour- 
ney up Maria's River to the distance of forty-eight 
miles, seeing great numbers of wild animals of dif- 
ferent kinds, though fewer buffalo than before. The 
country was spread out in level, beautiful plains, 
though the soil, except on the bottoms, was of infe- 
rior quality. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Captain Lewis and his Party arrive at the Forks of Maria's 
Kiver. — Alarmed by the Evidence of being in the Neighbour- 
hood of unfriendly Indians, and distressed for Want of Pro- 
visions. — The unfavourable Weather compels them to return. 
— Interview with the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. — Mutual 
Consternation. — Resolution of Captain Lewis. — They en- 
camp together for the Night. — Conversation which ensues. - 
Conflict occasioned by the Indians attempting to seize the 
Rifles and Horses of the Party, in which one of the former is 
mortally wounded.— Captain Lewis kills another Indian, and 
his narrow Escape. — Having taken four Horses belonging to 
the Indians, they hasten to join the Party with Captain Clarke. 
— Arriving near the Missouri, they are alarmed by the Sound 
of Rifles, which fortunately proves to be from the Party under 
Sergeant Ordway. — The two Detachments thus united, leave 
their Horses, and descend the Missouri in Canoes. — Continue 
their Route down the River to join Captain Clarke. — Vast 
Quantities of Game seen on their Passage. — Captain Lewis 
accidentally Wounded by one of his own Party. — They at 
length jom Captain Clarke. 

Starting at sunrise on the 21st, Captain Lewis 
and his party, after proceeding eighteen miles, came 
to the forks of Maria's River, the largest branch run- 



268 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ning south 75° west towards the mountains, and 
the other north 40° west. They followed the north- 
ern branch, believing it would lead them to the most 
northerly point of the river, and at the distance of 
thirteen miles encamped under a cliff on its banks. 

Ascending this branch for tweniy-eight miles on 
the following day, they were brought within about 
ten miles of the foot of the Rocky Mountains ; " and 
being now able to trace distinctly," says the Journal, 
" that the point at which the river issues from those 
mountains was to the south of west, we concluded 
that we had reached its most northern point ; and 
as we had ceased to believe that any of its branches 
extend as far north as the fiftieth degree of latitude, 
we deemed it useless to proceed farther." 

They concluded to remain here two days, to take 
some observations and rest their horses. Being 
unable to procure either game or fish, they were 
much distressed for want of provisions ; and their 
situation was rendered still more unpleasant by cer- 
tain evidences that the Minnetarees were at no great 
distance from them. The weather, also, was cold 
and rainy, preventing their taking any observation, 
and detaining them beyond the period they had 
proposed to stop. 

They did not start till the 26th, when, proceeding 
in nearly a southeast direction across the plains, at 
twelve miles' distance they came to a branch of Ma- 
ria's River, "which," says the .Journal, "we cross- 
ed, and continued along its southern side for two 
miles, where it is joined by another branch of nearly 
equal size from the southwest, and far more cleni 
than the north branch, which is turbid, though the 
beds of both are composed of pebbles. We now de- 
cided on pursuing this river to its junction with the 
fork of Maria's River, which we had ascended, and 
then crossing the country obliquely to Tansy River, 
to descend that stream to its confluence with Ma- 
ria's River. We therefore crossed over and de 



DISCOVERY OF THE MINNETAREES. 



269 



scended the river, and at one mile below the junc- 
tion halted to let the horses graze ni a fertile bottom, 
in which were some Indian lodges that appeared to 
have been inhabited during the last winter. * 

*' At the distance of three miles we ascended the 
hills close to the river, while Drewyer proceeded 
alonff its valley on the opposite side. But scarcely 
had Captain Lewis reached the high plain, when he 
saw, about a mile to his left, a collection of about 
thirty horses. He immediately halted, and by he 
• aid of his spyglass discovered that one half of the 
horses were saddled, and that on the eminence 
above the horses there were several Indiaiis look- 
ino- down towards the river, probably at Drewyer. 
This was a most unwelcome sight. Their probable 
numbers rendered any contest with them of doubt- 
ful issue, while to attempt to escape would only in- 
vite pursuit, and our horses were so bad that we 
must certainly be overtaken ; besides which, Drew- 
yer could not yet be aware that the Indians were 
near, and if we ran he would most probably be sac- 
rificed We determined, therefore, to make the best 
of our situation, and advanced towards them in a 
friendly manner. The flag which we had brought in 
case of any such accident was displayed, and we 
continued slowly to approach them. Their atten- 
tion was so entirely directed to Drewyer that they 
did not immediately discover us. As soon as they 
did perceive us they appeared to be much alarmed, 
and ran about in great confusion: some of them 
came down the hill and drove their horses withm 
gunshot of the eminence, to which they then re- 
turned, as if to wait our arrival. When we came 
within a quarter of a mile, one of them mounted and 
rode at full speed to meet us ; but at the distance of 
a hundred paces he halted, and Captain Lewis, who 
had alighted to receive him, held out his hand and 
beckoned to him to approach : he looked at us for 

gome time, and then, without saying a word, return- 



270 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

ed to his companions with as much haste as he had 
advanced. The whole party now descended the hill 
and rode towards us. As yet we saw only eight, 
but presumed that there must be more behind them, 
as there were other horses saddled. We, however, 
advanced, and Captain Lewis now told his two men 
that he feared these were the Minnetarees of Fort 
de Prairie, who, from their infamous character, would 
in all probability attempt to rob us ; but that, being 
determined to die rather than lose his papers and in- 
struments, he had made up his mind to resist to the 
last extremity, and advised them to do the same, and 
to be on the alert should there be any disposition 
to attack us. 

" "When the two parties came within a hundred 
yards of each other, all the Indians except one halt- 
ed; Captain Lewis therefore ordered his two men 
to stop while he advanced alone ; and, after shaking 
hands with the Lidian, he went on, and did the same 
with the others in the rear, the foremost Indian at 
the same time shaking hands with the two men. 
They all now came up, and, after alighting, the In- 
dians asked to smoke with us. Captain Lewis, who 
was very anxious for Drewyer's safety, told them 
that the man who had gone down the river had the 
pipe, and requested, as they had seen him, that one 
of them should accompany Fields to bring him back. 
To this they assented, and Fields went with a young 
Indian in search of Drewyer. Captain Lewis now 
asked them by signs if they were the Miimetarees 
of the north, and was sorry to learn by their answer 
that his suspicions were too true. He then inquired 
if there was any chief among them. They pointed 
out three; but, though he did not believe them, he 
thought it best to please them, and gave to one a 
flag, to another a medal, and to a third a handker- 
chief. They appeared to be well satisfied with these 
presents, and soon entirely recovered from the agi- 
tation into which our first interview had thrown 



INTERVIEW WITH THE MINNETAREES. 271 

them ; for they were, in fact, more alarmed than we 
were at the first meeting. In turn, however, we be- 
came equally satisfied, on seeing that they were not 
joined by any more companions ; for we considered 
ourselves quite a match for eight Indians, particu- 
larly as only two of them had guns, the rest being 
armed with eye-dogs and bows and arrows. 

"As it was growing late, Captain Lewis proposed 
that they should encamp together near the river; for 
he was glad to see them, and had a great deal to 
say to them. They assented ; and being soon join- 
ed by Drewyer, we proceeded towards the river, 
and after descending a very steep bluflf, two hundred 
and fifty feet high, encamped in a small bottom. 
Here the Indians formed a large semicircular tent 
of dressed buffalo skins, in which the two parties 
assembled, and by the help of Drewyer the evening 
was spent in conversation. The Indians informed 
us that they were a part of a large band, which at 
present lay encamped on the main branch of Maria's 
River, near the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and at 
the distance of a day and a half's journey from this 
place. Another numerous party were hunting buf- 
falo near the Broken Mountains, from which they 
would proceed in a few days to the north of Maria's 
River. With the first of these there was a white 
man. They added, that from this place to the es- 
tablishment at which they traded on the Saskasha- 
wan was only six days' easy march, that is, such a 
day's journey as could be made with their women 
and children ; so that we computed the distance at 
one hundred and sixty miles. There they carry 
wolfskins and some beaver, and exchange them for 
guns, ammunition, blankets, spirituous liquors, and 
other articles of Indian traffic, 

" Captain Lewis, in turn, informed them that he 
had come from a great distance up the large river 
which runs towards the rising sun, and that he had 
been as far as the great lake where the sun sets , 



272 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

that he had seen many nations, the greater part of 
whom were at war with each other, but that by hia 
mediation they had made peace, and all of them had 
been invited to come and trade with him east of the 
mountains ; that he was now on his way home, but 
had left his companions at the Falls while he came 
in search of the Minnetarees, in the hope of inducing 
them also to live at peace with their neighbours, and 
to visit the trading-houses which were about to be 
established at the entrance of Maria's River. They 
said that they were anxious to be at peace with the 
Tushepaws, but that those people had lately killed a 
number of their relations, as they proved by pointing 
to several of the party who had their hair cut as a 
mark of mourning. They were equally willing, they 
added, to come down and trade with us. Captain 
Lewis therefore proposed that they should send 
some of their young men to invite all their band to 
meet us at the mouth of Maria's River, and that the 
rest of the party should go with us to that place, 
where he hoped to find his men, offering them, at 
the same time, ten horses and some tobacco if they 
would accompany us. To this, however, they made 
no reply. Finding them very fond of the pipe, Cap- 
tain Lewis, who was desirous of keeping a vigilant 
watch during the night, smoked with them until a 
late hour, and, as soon as they were all asleep, he 
awoke R. Fields, and ordering him to rouse us all in 
case any Indian left the camp, as they would prob- 
ably attempt to steal our horses, he lay down by the 
side of Drewyer in the tent with all the Indians, 
while the two Fields were stretched near the fire at 
the mouth of it. 

"July 27. The Indians got up at sunrise and 
crowded round the fire, near which J. Fields, who 
was then on watch, had carelessly left his rifle, by 
the head of his brother, who was still asleep. One 
of the Indians slipped behind him, and, unperceived, 
took his brother's and his own rifle, while at the 



CONFLICT WITH THE MINNETAREES. 273 

same lime two others seized those of Drewyer and 
Captain Lewis. As soon as Fields turned round he 
saw the Indian running off with the rifles, and in- 
stantly calling his brother, they pursued him for fifty 
or sixty yards, and just as they overtook him, in 
the scuffle R. Fields stabbed him through the heart 
with his knife : he ran about fifteen steps and fell 
dead. They now hastened back with their rifles to 
the camp. The moment the fellow touched his gun, 
Drewyer, who was awake, jumped up and wrested 
it from him. The noise awoke Captain Lewis, who 
instantly started from the ground, and reached to 
seize his gun ; but, finding it gone, he drew a pistol 
from his belt, and turning about, saw an Indian run- 
ning off with it. He followed him and ordered him 
to lay it down, which he was doing, just as the two 
Fields came up and were taking aim to shoot him ; 
when Captain Lewis ordered them not to fire, as the 
Indian did not appear to intend any mischief. He 
dropped the gun, and was going off slowly, when 
Drewyer came out and asked permission to kill him ; 
but this Captain Lewis forbade, as he had not at- 
tempted to shoot us. But, finding that the Indians 
were now endeavouring to drive off all our horses, 
he ordered the men to follow the main party who 
were chasing the horses up the river, and to fire in- 
stantly upon the thieves ; while he, without taking 
time to run for his shot-pouch, pursued the fellow 
who had stolen his gun and another Indian, who 
were driving away the horses on the left of the 
camp. He pressed them so closely that they left 
twelve of their own horses, but continued to drive 
off one of ours. At the distance of three hundred 
paces they entered a steep niche in the river bluffs, 
when Captain Lewis, being too much out of breath 
to pursue them any farther, called out, as he had 
done several times before, that unless they gave up 
the horse he would shoot them. As he raised his 
gun one of them jumped behind a rock, and spoke to 



274 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the other, who, stopping at the distance of thirty 
paces, Captain Lewis shot him in the belly.* He 
fell on his knees and right elbow, but, raising him- 
self a little, fired, and then crawled behind a rock. 
The shot had nearly proved fatal ; for Captain Lew- 
is, who was bareheaded, felt the wind of the ball 
very distinctly. Not having his shot-pouch, ho 
could not reload his rifle ; and, having only a single 
charge also for his jlistol, he thought it most prudent 
not to attack them farther, and retired slowly to the 
camp. He was met by Drewyer, who, hearing the 
report of the guns, had come to his assistance, leav- 
ing the Fields to follow the other Indians. Captain 
Lewis ordered him to call out to them to desist from 
the pursuit, as we could take the horses of the In- 
dians in place of our own; but they were at too 
great a distance to hear him. He therefore return- 
ed to the camp, and while he was saddling the 
horses the Fields returned with four of our own, 
having followed the Indians until two of them swam 
the river and two others ascended the hills, so that 
the horses became dispersed. 

" We were, on the whole, rather gainers by the 
contest, for we had taken four of the Indian horses, 
and lost only one of our own. Besides which, we 
found in the camp four shields, two bows with quiv- 
ers, and one of their guns, which we took with us, 
and also the flag we had presented to them: the 
medal we left round the neck of the dead man, that 
they might be informed who we were. The rest of 
their baggage, except some buffalo meat, we did not 
disturb ; and as there was no time to be lost, w^e 

* In consequence of the death of this man at the hands of 
Captain Lewis, a treacherous and lurking hostility was excited 
in the breasts of the Blackfeet (and it is presumed still remains), 
which Induced the American Fur Company to establish a strong 
fort, with a force of sixty men, at the mouth of Maria's River. 
This band keep about the head-waters of the Missouri, and come 
down even to the Arkansas, plundering the Flatheads, Nez- 
Perces, and Shoshonees — Irving. . 



THEY HASTEN THEIR JOURNEY. 275 

mounted our horses, and, after ascending the river 
hills, took our course through the beautiful level 
plains in a direction a little to the south of east. 
We had no doubt but we should be immediately pur- 
sued by a much larger party, and that, as soon as in- 
telligence was given to the band near the Broken 
Mountains, they would hasten to the mouth of M;^- 
ria's River to intercept us. We hoped, however, to 
be there before them, so as to form a junction with 
our friends. W^e therefore pushed our horses as 
fast as we possibly could (and, fortunately for us, the 
Indian horses proved very good), the plains being 
perfectly level, without many stones or prickly 
pears, and in fine order for travelling after the late 
rains. At eight miles from our camp we passed a 
stream forty yards wide, to which, from the occur- 
rence of the morning, we gave the name of Battle 
River. At three o'clock we reached Rose River, 
five miles above where we had formerly passed it ; 
and having now come by estimate sixty-three miles, 
we halted for an hour and a half to refresh our horses, 
then pursued our journey seventeen miles farther, 
when, as the night came on, we killed a buffalo, and 
again stopped for two hours. The sky was now 
overcast, but as the moon gave light enough to show 
us the route, we continued along through immense 
herds of buffalo for twenty miles, and then, almost 
exhausted with fatigue, halted at two in the morn- 
ing, 

" July 28, to rest ourselves and the horses. At 
daylight we awoke, sore, and scarcely able to stand ; 
but as our own lives, as well as those of our com- 
panions, depended on our pressing forward, we again 
mounted our horses and set out. The men were 
desirous of crossing the Missouri at Grog Spring, 
where Rose River approaches it so nearly that by 
passing down the southwest side of it we might 
avoid the country at the junction of the two rivers, 
across which the enemy would most probably pur- 



276 LEWIS \ND Clarke's expedition. 

sue us. But as this circuitous route would consume 
the whole day, and the Indians might in the mean 
time attack the canoes at the point, Captain Lewis 
stated to his party that it was now their duty to risk 
their lives for their friends and companions ; that 
they should therefore proceed immediately to the 
point to give them the alarm ; and if they had not 
yet arrived there, they would raft the Missouri, and, 
after hiding the baggage, ascend the river on foot 
through the woods till they should meet them. He 
told them, also, that it was his determination, in case 
they were attacked in crossing the plains, to tie the 
bridles of the horses, and stand together till they 
had either routed their enemies, or sold their lives 
as dearly as possible. To this they all assented, 
and we therefore continued our route to the east- 
ward, till at the distance of twelve miles we came 
near the Missouri, when we heard a noise which 
seemed like the report of a gun. We therefore 
quickened our pace for eight miles farther, and, be- 
mg about five miles from Grog Spring, now heard 
distinctly the noise of several rifles from the river. 
We hurried to the bank, and saw with exquisite sat- 
isfaction our friends descending the river. They 
landed to greet us, and after tuniing our horses loose, 
we embarked with our baggage, and went down to 
the spot where we had made a deposite. This, after 
reconnoitring the adjacent country, we opened ; but, 
unfortunately, the cache had caved in, and most of 
the articles were injured. We took whatever was 
still worth preserving, and immediately proceeded 
to the point, where we found our deposites in good 
order. By a singular good fortune, we were here 
joined by Sergeant Gass and Willard from the Falls, 
who had been ordered to come with the horses here 
to assist in procuring meat for the voyage, as it had 
been calculated that the canoes would reach this 
place much sooner than Captain Lewis's party. Af- 
ter a very heavy shower of rain and hail, attended 



PASSAGE DOWN THE MISSOURI. 277 

with violent thunder and lightning, we started from 
the point, and giving a final discharge to our horses, 
went over to the island where we had left our red 
pirogue, which, however, we found much decayed, 
and we had no means of repairing her. We there- 
fore took all tlie iron work out of her, and, proceed- 
ing down the river fifteen miles, encamped near 
some cottoiiwood-trees, one of which was of the 
narrow-leafed species, and the first of that kind we 
had remarked in ascending the river. 

" Sergeant Ordway's party, which had left the 
mouth of Madison River on the 13th, had descended 
in safety to White Bear Island, where he arrived on 
the 19th, and, after collecting the baggage, had left 
the falls on the 27th in the white pirogue and five ca- 
noes, while Sergeant Gass and Willard set out at 
the same time by land with the horses, and thus for- 
tunately met together." 

They started the next morning, notwithstanding 
A violent storm of rain and hail, having first sent 
two canoes ahead for -iJie purpose of hunting elk 
and buffalo, which were ni immense numbers. The 
river was high and the current rapid, and they con- 
tinued their voyage downward for several days, at 
the rate, when the weather would permit, of sixty 
or seventy miles a day, passing the mouths of the 
Muscleshell, Big Dry, Little Dry, and Porcupine Riv- 
ers in their descent. 

" August 7. Being resolved," proceeds the Jour- 
nal, " to reach, if possible, the Yellowstone, a dis- 
tance of eighty-three miles, in the course of the day, 
we set out early, and, being favoured by a rapid cur- 
rent and good oarsmen, proceeded with great speed. 
In passing Martha's River, we observed that its 
mouth was at present a quarter of a mile lower than 
it had been last year. Here we perceived the first 
appearance of coal-burned hills and pumice-stone, 
which seem always to accompany each other. At 
this place, also, were the first elms and dwarf ce- 



278 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

dars, on the bluffs of the river. The a.sh, too, made 
its first appearance in a sohtary tree at the Ash Rap- 
id but was seen occasionally scattered through the 
low grounds at the Elk Rapid, and thence down- 
ward, though it was generally small. The whole 
country on the northeast side, between Martha and 
Milk Rivers, is a beautiful level plain, with a soil 
much more fertile than that higher up. The buffa- 
lo, elk, and other animals still continued numerous, 
as' were also the bear, who lie in wait at the cross- 
ing places, where they seize elk and the weaker 
cattle, and then stay by the carcass to keep off the 
wolves till the whole is devoured. At four o'clock 
we reached the mouth of the Yellowstone, where 
we found a note from Captain Clarke, informmg us 
of his intention of waiting for us a few miles below. 
We therefore left a memorandum for two of our 
huntsmen, who had been sent out, and who, we now 
supposed, must be behind us, and then pursued our 
course till night came on, when, not bemg able to 
overtake Captain Clarke, we encamped." 

The next day they proceeded nearly to the 
mouth of Whiteearth River without meeting Captain 
Clarke, and not knowing what to think of it, they 
landed and remained for two days, during which 
they employed themselves in caulking and repairing 
their canoes, and in preparing skins for clothing. 

" August 11. Being anxious," continues the narra- 
tive, " to reach the Burned Hills by noon, in order to 
determine their latitude, we went forward with great 
rapidity, but by the time we reached that place it was 
twenty minutes too late to take a meridian altitude. 
Captain Lewis observing on the opposite side of the 
river a herd of elk on a sand-bar covered with willows, 
landed with Cruzatte to hunt them. Each of them 
fired and shot an elk. They then reloaded, and took 
different routes in pursuit of the game, when, just as 
Captain Lewis was taking aim at an elk, a ball struck 
him in the left thigh, about an inch below the hip 



CAPTAIN LEWIS ACCIDENTALLY WOUNDED. 279 

joint, and missing the bone, passed through the limb, 
and grazed the other to some depth. It mstantly 
occurred to him that Cruzatte, whose eyesiglit was 
no* very good, must have shot him m mistake for 
an elk, as he was dressed in brown leather. He 
therefore called out that he was wounded, and looked 
towards the place from which the shot came : see- 
ing nothing, however, he called on Cruzatte by name 
several times, but received no answer. As, then, his 
companion was out of hearing, and the shot appear- 
ed not to have come from more than forty paces dis- 
tance, he now concluded that it must have been fired 
by an Indian ; and not knowing how many might be 
concealed in the bushes, he made towards the pi- 
rogue, calling out to Cruzatte to retreat, as there 
were Indians in the willows. As soon as he reach- 
ed the pirogue, he ordered the men to arms, and sta- 
tincr to them that he had been wounded by the Indians, 
tholish he hoped not mortally, bade them follow him 
to relieve Cruzatte. They instantly followed for a 
hundred paces, when his wound became so painful, 
and his thigh stiffened in such a manner, that he could 
go no farther. He therefore ordered the men to 
proceed, and if they should be overpowered by num- 
bers, to retreat towards the boats, keeping up a con- 
tinual fire ; then limping back to the pirogue, he 
made ready his rifle, pistol, and air-gun, determined 
to sell his hfe dearly in case the men should be over- 
come. In this state of anxiety and suspense he re- 
mained for about twenty minutes, when the party 
returned with Cruzatte, and reported that no Indians 
were to be seen in the neighbourhood. Cruzatte 
was now much alarmed, and declared that he had 
shot at an elk, as he supposed, after Captain Lewis 
had left him, but disclaimed all idea of having inten- 
tionally wounded his officer. There was now no 
doubt but the shot had come from him ; yet, as it 
seemed to be perfectly accidental, and he had always 
conducted himself with propriety, no farther notice 
IT.— Y 



280 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

was taken of it. The wound was dressed, and pat- 
ent lint put into the holes. It bled considerably, but 
as the ball had touched no bone or artery, it was 
hoped it would not prove fatal. As it was now ren- 
dered impossible for him, however, to take the ob- 
servations he had proposed, to determine the latitude 
of the Burned Hills, which was chiefly desirable from 
their being at the most northern point of the Missou- 
ri, he declined remaining till the next day, and pro- 
ceeded on till evening. As he could not now be re- 
moved without great pain, and had a high fever, he 
remained on board during the night, and early the 
next morning, 

" August 12, we proceeded on with as much expe- 
dition as possible. Soon after starting we went on 
shore to visit a camp, which we found to be that of 
Dickson and Hancock, the two Illinois traders, who 
told us that they had seen Captain Clarke the day 
before. While stopping here we were overtaken 
by our two hunters. Colter and Collins, who had 
been missing since the 3d. They stated that, after 
following us the first day, they concluded we must 
be behind, and waited for us several days, until they 
became convinced of their mistake, when they came 
on as rapidly as they could. We made some presents 
to the two traders, and then proceeded till one 
o'clock, when we joined our friends and companions 
under Captain Clarke ' 



DEPARTURE OF CAPTAIN CLARKE 281 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Party commanded by Captain Clarke proceed along 
Clarke's River.— Their sorry Commemoration of the 4th oi 
July.— Instance of Sacajawea's Strength of Memory.— De 
scription of the River and of the surrounding Country, as the 
Party proceed.— Horses missing, and supposed to be stolen 
by the Indians.— They reach Wisdom River.- Extraordinary 
Heat of a Spring.— Fondness of the Party for Tobacco.— 
Sergeant Ordway recovers the Horses.— Captain Clarke di- 
vides his Party, one detachment to descend the River.— They 
reach Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers.— Arrive at the Yellow- 
stone River.— Otter and Beaver Rivers.— Indian Fortification. 
—One of the Party accidentally wounded.— Engaged in build- 
ing Canoes.— Twenty-four Horses stolen, probably by the In- 
dians. 

" July 3. On taking leave of Captain Lewis and 
the Indians, the division under Captain Clarke, con- 
sisting of fifteen men, with fifty horses, set out 
through the valley of Clarke's River, along the west- 
ern side of which they rode in a southern direction. 
This valley is from ten to fifteen miles in width, tol- 
erably level, and partially covered with the long- 
leafed and the pitch pine, with some cottonvvood, 
birch, and sweet willow on the borders of the 
streams." * * * "After crossing eight different 
streams of water, four of which were small, they 
halted at the distance of eighteen miles, on the up- 
per side of a large creek, where they let their horses 
graze, and after dinner continued their journey in the 
same direction eighteen miles farther, when they 
encamped on the north side of a large creek. The 
valley became more beautiful as they advanced, and 
was diversified by a number of small open plains, 
abounding with grass and a variety of sweet-scented 
plants, and watered by ten streams rushing from 



282 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

the western mountains with considerable velocity. 
These mountains were covered with snow about 
one fifth of their way from the top, and some snow 
was still to be seen on the high points, and in the 
hollows of the mountains to the eastward." 

The following day they continued their route up 
the valley, which became narrower as they advan- 
ced. They were obliged to ford several rapid creeks 
on their way, and at the distance of thirty miles en- 
camped on the western branch of Clarke's River. 
Crossing the river the next morning, after proceed- 
ing one mile they came to its eastern branch, which 
they ascended to the foot of the mountain ; and, hav- 
ing ascertained that it took its rise in a high, peaked 
mountain about twenty miles to the northeast of the 
valley, they stopped for the night. " As soon as they 
halted," proceeds the narrative, " several men were 
despatched in different directions to examine the 
road, and from their report it was concluded that the 
best path would be one about three miles up the 
stream. This was the road travelled by the Ootla- 
shoots, and would certainly shorten the route two 
days at least, besides being much better, as they had 
been informed by the Indians, than that by which 
we had advanced in the fall. 

"July 6. The night was very cold, succeeded by 
frost in the morning ; and as the horses were much 
scattered, the party were not able to set out before 
nine o'clock. They then went along the stream for 
three miles, and leaving to the right the path by 
which they had come in the fall, followed the road 
taken by the Ootlashoots, up a gentle ascent to the 
dividing mountain which separates the waters of 
the middle fork of Clarke's River from those of 
Wisdom and Lewis Rivers. On reaching the oth- 
er side they came to Glade Creek, down which they 
proceeded, crossing it frequently into the glades on 
each side, where the timber was small, and in many 
places destroyed by fire : there were great quantities 



SACA^JAWEAH RECOGNISES THE COUNTRY. 283 

of quamash then in bloom. Throughout the glades 
were great numbers of holes made by the whisthng 
or burrowing squirrel i and they killed a hare of the 
large mountain species. Along these roads there 
were also appearances of old buffalo paths, and some 
old heads of buffaloes ; and as these animals evince 
wonderful sagacity in the choice of their routes, the 
coincidence of a buffalo with an Indian track affords 
the strongest evidence that it is the best. In the af- 
ternoon they passed along the hill side, north of the 
creek, for six miles, when they entered an extensive 
level plain. Here the Indian tracks scattered so 
much that they were wholly at a loss which to fol- 
low ; but Sacajaweah recognised the plain immedi- 
ately. She had travelled it often during her child- 
hood, and informed them that it was greatly resort- 
ed to by the Shoshonees, who came here for the 
purpose of gathering quamash and of taking beaver, 
with which the plain abounded ; that Glade Creek 
was a branch of Wisdom River, and that, on reach- 
ing the more elevated part of the plain, they would 
see a gap in the mountains, on the route to the ca- 
noes, and from that gap the high point of a mountain 
covered with snow. At the distance of a mile they 
passed over a large creek from the right ; also Fish 
Creek, coming from a snowy mountain, across which 
there was a gap. Soon after, on ascending some 
rising ground, the country spread itself into a beau- 
tiful plain, extending north and south about fifteen 
miles wide and thirty in length, and surrounded on 
all sides by high points of mountains covered with 
snow, among which was the gap pointed out by the 
squaw, bearing south 56° east. , They had not gone 
two miles from the last creek when they were over- 
taken by a violent storm of wind, accompanied by 
a heavy fall of rain, which lasted an hour and a half. 
Having no shelter, they formed a solid column to 
project themselves from the gust, and then went on 
five miles to a small creek, where, finding some 



284 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

wood, they encamped for the night, and dried them- 
selves. Here they observed fresh signs of Indians, 
u^ho had been gathering quamash. Their distance 
vi^as twenty-six miles. In the morning, 

" July 7, their horses were so much scattered, that, 
although they sent out hunters to range the country 
in every direction for six or eight miles, nine of 
them were still missing. They were the most valu- 
able ones of all, and so much attached to some of 
their companions that it was difficult to separate 
them in the daytime. It was therefore concluded 
that they must have been stolen by some roving In- 
dians, and, accordingly, a party of five men was left 
to continue the pursuit, while the rest went on to 
the spot where the canoes had been deposited. They 
set out at ten o'clock, and pursued a course south 
50° east across the valley, which they found to be 
watered by four large creeks, with extensive, low, 
miry bottoms, till they reached Wisdom River, along 
the northeast side of which they continued, when, 
at the distance of sixteen miles, they came to the 
three branches. Near that place they stopped for 
dinner at a hot spring situated in the open plain. 
The bed of the spring is about fifteen yards in cir- 
cumference, and composed of loose, hard, gritty 
stones, through which the water boils in large quan- 
tities. It is shghtly impregnated with sulphur, and 
so hot that a piece of meat, about the size of three 
fingers, vi7as completely done in twenty-five minutes. 
After dinner they proceeded across the eastern 
branch and along the north side of the middle branch 
for nine miles, when they reached the gap in the 
mountains, and took, a final leave of this extensive 
valley, which they called the Hot-spring Valley. It 
is, indeed, a beautiful country: though enclosed by 
mountains covered with snow, the soil is exceeding- 
ly fertile, and well supphed with esculent plants, 
while its numerous creeks furnish immense quanti- 
ties of beaver. Another valley less extensive and 



FONDNESS OF THE MEN FOR TOBACCO. 285 

more rugged opened itself to their view as they 
passed through the gap ; but, as they had made twen- 
ty-five miles, and the night was advancing, they halt- 
ed near some fine springs which fall into Willard's 
Creek. After a cold night, during which their horses 
separated and could not be collected till eight o'clock 
in the morning, 

" July 8, they crossed the valley along the south- 
ivest side of Willard's Creek for twelve miles, when 
It entered the mountains, and then, turning S. 20° 
G., they came to the Shoshonee Cove after riding 
seven miles ; thence they proceeded down the west 
branch of Jeff'erson River, and at the distance of 
nine miles reached its forks, where we had depos- 
ited our merchandise in the month of August. Most 
of the men were in the habit of chewing tobacco ; 
and such was their eagerness to procure it after so 
long a privation, that they scarcely waited to take 
the saddles from their horses before they ran eager- 
ly to the cave, and were delighted at being able to 
resume this fascinating indulgence. This, indeed, 
was one of the most trying privations they had en- 
countered. Some of the men, whose tomahawks 
were so formed as to answer the purpose of pipes, 
even broke the handles of these weapons, cut them 
mto small fragments, and chewed them ; the wood 
having, by frequent smoking, become strongly im- 
pregnated with the taste of that plant. They found 
everything safe, though some of the goods were a 
little damp, and one of the canoes had a hole in it. 
The ride of this day was twenty-seven miles in 
length, through a country diversified by low, marshy 
grounds, and high, open, stony plains, terminated by 
lofty mountains, on the tops and along the* northern 
sides of which the snow still remained. Over the 
whole were scattered great quantities of hyssop, and 
the different species of shrubs common to the plains 
of the Missouri. 

"They had now crossed from Traveller's Rest 



1286 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

Creek to the head of Jefferson's River, which seems 
to form the best and shortest route over the mount- 
ains during ahuost the v^^hole distance of one hun- 
dred and sixty-four miles. It is, in fact, a very ex- 
cellent road ; and by cutting down a few trees it 
might be rendered a good route for wagons, with the 
exception of about four miles over one of the mount- 
ains, which would require some levelling." 

The next day was spent in raising and repairing 
the canoes, and in the course of it they were joined 
by Sergeant Ordway with the missing horses. 

" July 10. This morning," says the Journal, " a 
white frost covered the ground, the grass was frozen, 
and the ice three quarters of an inch thick in a basin 
of water. The boats were now loaded, and Captain 
Clarke divided his men into two bands, one to de- 
scend the river with the baggage, while he, with the 
other, should proceed on horseback to the Yellow- 
stone. After breakfast the two parties set out, those 
on shore skirting the eastern side of Jefferson Riv- 
er, through Service Valley, and over Rattlesnake 
Mountain, into a beautiful and extensive country, 
known among the Indians by the name of Hahnah- 
appapelah, or Beaverhead Valley, from the number 
of those animals found in it, and also from a point of 
land resembling the head of a beaver. It extends 
from Rattlesnake Mountain as low as Frazier's 
Creek, and is about fifty miles in length in a direct 
line, while its width varies from ten to fifteen miles, 
being watered in its whole course by the Jefferson, 
and six different creeks. This valley is open and 
fertile, and, besides the vast numbers of beaver and 
otter on its creeks, the bushy low grounds are a fa- 
vourite resort for deer, while on the higher parts of 
the valley were seen scattered groups of antelopes, 
and beyond, on the steep sides of the mountains, 
many of the bighorn, taking refuge there from the 
wolves and bears. At the distance of fifteen miles 
the two parties stopped to dine, when Captain 



GALLATIN RIVER. 287 

Clarke, finding that the river became wider and 
deeper, and that the canoes could advance more 
rapidly than the horses, determined to proceed him- 
self by water, leaving Sergeant Pryor, with six men, 
to bring on the horses. They resumed their jour- 
ney after dinner, and encamped on the eastern side 
of the river, opposite to the head of Three-thousand- 
mile Island." 

The two following days they continued to descend 
the river, passing Philanthropy and Wisdom Rivers, 
and seeing great numbers of beaver as they passed 
along. 

"July 13. Early in the morning," continues the 
narrative, " they set out, and at noon reached the 
entrance of Madison River, where Sergeant Pryor 
had arrived with the horses about an hour before ; 
and, having driven them across Madison and Gal- 
latin Rivers, just below the mouth of the latter the 
party halted to dine and unload the canoes. Here 
they again separated ; Sergeant Ordvvay, with nine 
men, setting out in six canoes to descend the river, 
while Captain Clarke, with the remaining ten, the 
wife and child of Chaboneau, and fifty horses, were 
to proceed by land to the Yellowstone. They set 
out at five in the afternoon from the forks of the 
Missouri, in a direction nearly east ; but, as many 
of the horses had sore feet, they were obliged to 
move slowly, and after going four miles halted for 
the night on the bank of Gallatin Rivjer. This is a 
beautiful stream, and though rapid, and obstructed 
by islands near its mouth, is navigable for canoes. 
On its lower side the land rises gradually to the foot 
of a mountain, running almost parallel with it ; but 
the country below it and Madison River is a level 
plain, covered with short grass, the soil being poor, 
and encumbered with stones and strata of hard 
white rock along the hill sides. Throughout the 
whole, game was very abundant. They obtained 
deer in the low grounds ; beaver and otter were seen 
IT.— Z 



288 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

in Gallatin River; and elk, wolves, eagles, hawks, 
crows, and geese w^ere noticed at different points on 
the ronte. The plain was intersected by several 
great roads, leading to a gap in the mountain about 
twenty miles distant, in a direction E.N.E. ; but 
the Indian woman, who was acquainted with the 
country, recommended another gap more to the 
south, through which Captain Clarke determined to 
proceed." 

They started early the next morning, and, pursu- 
ing the route recommended by the squaw, came in 
the afternoon to the three forks of Gallatin River, 
and in the evening encamped at the entrance of the 
gap previously mentioned by her. 

" July 15. After an early breakfast," says the 
Journal, " they proceeded through this gap to the 
heads of the eastern fork of Gallatin River, near 
which they had encamped the evening before, and at 
the distance of six miles reached the top of the di- 
viding ridge which separates the waters of the Mis- 
souri and the Yellowstone, on descending which 
ridge they struck one of the streams of the latter 
river. They followed its course through an open 
country, with high mountains on each side partially 
covered with pine, and watered by several streams, 
crowded, as usual, with beaver dams. Nine miles 
from the summit of the ridge they reached the Yel- 
lowstone itself, about a mile and a half below where 
it issues from the Rocky Mountains. It now ap- 
peared that the communication between the two 
rivers was short and easy. The distance from the 
head of the Missouri at its three forks to this place 
is forty-eight miles, the greater part of which is 
through a level plain ; while from the forks of the 
eastern branch of Gallatin River, which is there nav- 
igable for small canoes, to this part of the Yellow- 
stone, it is no more than eighteen miles, with an ex- 
cellent road over a high, dry country, the hills being 
of inconsiderable height, and easily passable. They 



COUNTRY ON THE YELLOWSTONE, 289 

halted for three hours to rest their horses, and then 
pursued the buffalo road along the bank of the river. 
" Although but just emerging from a high snowy- 
mountain, the Yellowstone is here a bold, rapid, and 
deep stream, one hundred and twenty yards in width. 
The bottoms along its course are narrow within the 
mountains, but widen to the extent of nearly two 
miles in the valley below, where they are occasion- 
ally overflowed, and the soil gives growth to cotton- 
wood, rose-bushes, honeysuckle, rushes, common 
coarse grass, a species of rye, and various produc- 
tions found on moist lands. On each side these low 
grounds are bordered by dry plains of coarse gravel 
and sand, stretching back to the foot of the mount- 
ains, and supplied with a very short grass. The 
mountains on the east side of the river are rough 
and rocky, and were still covered with great quan- 
tities of snow ; while two other high, snowy mount- 
ains were seen, one bearing north fifteen or twenty 
miles, the other nearly east. They had no cover- 
ing except a few scattered pine, nor, indeed, could 
they discover any timber fit even for a small ca- 
noe." At the distance of nine miles from the mount- 
ain they passed a bold, deep stream from the north- 
west, discharging itself into the Yellowstone, and to 
which they gave the name of Shields's River. 

They continued their course along the river the 
following day, their horses being unable to travel 
fast in consequence of the soreness of their feet, and 
halted in the evening after having made twenty-six 
miles. On the 17th they passed two large creeks, 
entering the Yellowstone nearly opposite to each 
other; the one coming from the northeast they call- 
ed Otter, and that on the other side Beaver River. 
" The river," says the Journal, " was now becoming 
more divided by islands, and a number of small 
creeks fell into it on both sides. The largest of 
these was about seven miles from Beaver River, en- 
tering on the right : they called it Bratton's River, 



290 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

from one of the men. The highlands, too, approach- 
ed more nearly than before ; but, although their sides 
were partially supplied with pine and cedar, the 
growth was too small for canoes. The buffalo were 
beginning to be more abundant, and for the first 
time on this river they saw a pelican ; but deer and 
elk were now more scarce than before. In one of 
the low bottoms of the river was an Indian fort, 
which seemed to have been built during the previous 
summer. It .was in the form of a circle, about fifty 
feet in diameter, five feet high, and formed of logs 
lapped over each other, covered on the outside with 
bark set on end. The entrance was guarded by a 
work on each side of it facing the river. These in- 
trenchments, the squaw informed us, were frequent- 
ly made by the Minnetarees and other Indians at war 
with the Shoshonees, when pursued by their ene- 
mies on horseback." 

Gibson, one of the party, was so badly hurt the 
following day, by falling on a sharp point of wood, 
that he was unable to sit on his horse, and they 
were obliged to form a sort of litter for him, so that 
he could lie nearly at full length. The wound be- 
came so painful, however, after proceeding a short 
distance, that he could not bear the motion, and they 
left him with two men, while Captain Clarke went 
to search for timber large enough to form canoes. 
He succeeded in finding some trees of sufficient size 
for small canoes, two of which he determined to 
construct, and by lashing them together hoped to 
make them answer the purpose of conveying the 
party down the river, while a few of his men should 
conduct the horses to the Mandans. All hands, 
therefore, were set busily to work, and they were 
employed in this labour for several days. In the 
mean time no less than twenty-four of their hor- 
ses were missing, and they strongly suspected had 
been stolen by the Indians, for they were unable to 
find them, notwithstanding they made the most dili 
gent search. 



THE INDIANS STEAL THEIR HORSES. 291 

" July 23. A piece of a robe and a mi3ccasin," 
says the Journal, " were discovered this morning 
not far from the camp. The moccasin was worn 
out in the sole, and yet wet, and had every appear- 
ance of having been left but a few hours before. 
This was conclusive that the Indians had taken our 
horses, and were still prowling about for the remain- 
der, which fortunately escaped last night by being 
in a small prairie surrounded by thick timber. At 
length Labiche, one of our best trackers, returned 
from a very wide circuit, and informed Captain 
Clarke that he had traced the horses bending their 
course rather down the river towards the open plains, 
and from their tracks, must have been going very 
rapidly. All hopes of recovering them were now 
abandoned. Nor were the Indians the only plun- 
derers around our camp ; for in the night the wolves 
or dogs stole the greater part of the dried meat from 
the scaffold. The wolves, which constantly attend 
the buffalo, were here in great numbers, as this 
seemed to be the commencement of the buffalo 
country." * * * 

" At noon the two canoes were finished. They 
were twenty-eight feet long, sixteen or eighteen 
inches deep, and from sixteen to twenty-four inches 
wide ; and, having lashed them together, everything 
was ready for setting out the next day, Gibson hav- 
ing now recovered. Sergeant Pryor was directed, 
with Shannon and Windsor, to take the remaining 
horses to the Mandans, and if he should find thai 
Mr. Henry was on the Assiniboin River, to go thithei 
and deliver him a letter, the object of which was ta 
prevail on the most distinguished chiefs of the Siouj( 
to accompany him to Washington.' 



292 LEWIS AMi> Clarke's expedition. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Captain Clarke proceeds down the River. — Description of an 
Indian Lodge. — Sergeant Prj'or arrives with the Horses.— 
Remarkable Rock seen by Captain Clarke, and the Beauty 
of the Prospect from its Summit. — Yellowstone and Bighorn 
Rivers compared. — Immense Herds of Buffalo. — Fierceness 
of the White Bear. — Encamp at the Junction of the Yellow- 
stone and Missouri. — General Outline given of the Yellowstone 
River. — Sufferings of the Party from the Moschetoes. — Ser- 
geant Pryor arrives, and reports that the Horses were all 
stolen by the Indians. — In this Emergency they make Canoes 
of Skins, in which they descend the River over the most diffi- 
cult Shoals and Rapids. — Unexpectedly meet with two White 
Men, from whom they procure Intelligence in relation to tho 
Indians formerly visited by the Party. 

" July 24. The canoes were loaded, and Sergeant 
Pryor and his party set out, with orders to proceed 
down to the entrance of Bighorn River, which was 
supposed to be at no great distance, where they 
would be taken in the boats across the Yellowstone. 
At eight o'clock Captain Clarke embarked, and pro- 
ceeded on very steadily down the river, which con- 
tained a number of islands, some of which were sup- 
plied with a growth of small timber. At the dis- 
tance of a mile from the camp, the river passed along 
a high bluff for about twenty-three miles, when the 
bottoms widened on both sides ; and twenty-nine 
miles farther, a stream fell into it from the south, 
which was supposed to be the Bighorn ; but after- 
ward, when the Bighorn was found, the name of 
Clarke's Fork was given to this stream. It is a 
bold river, one hundred and fifty yards wide at the 
entrance, but a short distance above is contracted to 
a hundred yards. The water is of a light muddy 
colour, and much colder than that of the Yellow- 



INDIAN LODGE. 293 

Stone, and its general course is southeasterly from 
the Rocky Mountains. There is a small island sit- 
uated immediately at its entrance, and this or the 
adjoining mainland would form a very good position 
for a fort. The country most frequented by the 
beaver begins here, and that which lies between this 
river and the Yellowstone is perhaps the best dis- 
trict for the hunters of that animal. About a mile 
before reaching this river there was a ripple in the 
Yellowstone, on passing which the canoes took in 
some water. The party therefore landed to bale out 
the boats, and then proceeded six miles farther to a 
large island, where they halted for the purpose of 
waiting for Sergeant Pryor. It is a beautiful spot, 
with a rich soil, covered with wild rye, and a spe- 
cies of grass like the blue grass, and some of anoth- 
er kind, which the Indians wear in plaits round the 
neck, on account of its fragrance, resembling that of 
the vanilla. There is also a thin growth of cotton- 
wood. In the centre was a large Indian lodge, 
which seemed to have been built during the prece- 
ding summer. It was in the form of a cone, sixty feet 
in diameter at the base, composed of twenty poles, 
each forty-five feet long, and two and a half in cir- 
cumference, and the whole structure covered with 
bushes. The interior was curiously ornamented. 
On the tops of the poles were feathers of eagles, and 
circular pieces of wood, with sticks across them in 
the form of a girdle. From the centre was suspend- 
ed a stuffed buffalo skin ; fronting the door was 
hung a cedar bush ; on one side of the lodge, a buf- 
falo's head ; and on the other, several pieces of wood 
were stuck in the ground. From its whole appear- 
ance, it was more like a building for holding coun- 
cils than an ordinary lodge. Sergeant Pryor not 
having yet arrived, they went on about fifteen and a 
half miles farther, to a small creek on the right, to 
which ihey gave the name of Horse Creek, and just 
below it overtook him with the horses. He had 



294 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

found it almost impossible, with two men, to drive 
them on; for, as soon as they discovered a herd of 
buffalo, the loose horses, having been trained to 
hunting this animal by the Indians, immediately set 
off in pursuit, and surrounded the herd with almost 
ds much skill as their riders could have done. At 
last he was obliged to send one horseman forward, 
to drive all the buffalo from their route. The horses 
were here driven across, and Sergeant Pryor started 
again, with an additional man to his party." As 
they proceeded, the river deepened and became more 
navigable ; they passed a creek coming from the 
southeast, which they called Pryor's Creek, and 
landed in the evening after having made sixty-nine 
and a half miles. 

" July 25. At sunrise they resumed their voyage, 
and passed a number of small islands and streams, 
and occasionally high bluffs, composed of a yellow 
gritty stone. After proceeding a short distance 
they were overtaken by a storm of rain, with a high 
southwest wind, which obliged them to land, and 
form a sort of log hut covered with deerskins. As 
soon as it ceased they went on ; and at about four 
o'clock, after having made forty-nine miles. Captain 
Clarke landed to examine a very remarkable rock, 
situated in an extensive bottom on the right, about 
two hundred and fifty paces from the shore. It is 
nearly two hundred paces in circumference, two 
hundred feet high, and accessible only from the 
northeast, the other sides consisting of perpendicu- 
lar cliffs of a light-coloured gritty stone. The soil 
on the summit is five or six feet deep, of a good 
quahty, and covered with short grass. The Indians 
have carved the figures of animals and other objects 
on the sides of the rock, and on the top are raised 
two piles of stones. From this height the eye ran- 
ged over a wide extent of variegated country. On 
the southwest were the Rocky Mountains covered 
with f.now ; there was a low mountain about forty 



PROSPECT FROM POMPEY's PILLaR. 295 

miles distant, in a direction north 55° west ; and at 
the distance of thirty-five miles, the southern ex- 
tremity of wh*it are called the Little Wolf Mountains. 
The low grounds of the river extended nearly six 
miles to the southward, when they rose into plains 
reaching to the mountains, and were watered by a 
large creek ; while at some distance below, a range 
of highland, covered with pine, stretched on both 
sides of the river in a direction north and south. 
The north side of the river, for some distance, is 
here surrounded by jutting romantic cliffs, succeed- 
ed by rugged hills, beyond which the plains are 
again open and extensive, and the whole country 
was enlivened by herds of butfalo, elk, and wolves. 
After enjoying the prospect from this rock, to which 
Captain Clarke gave the name of Pompey's Pillar, 
he descended and continued his route. At the dis- 
tance of six or seven miles he stopped to secure two 
bighorns which had been shot from the boat ; and 
while on shore, saw, in the face of the cliff" on the 
left, about twenty feet above the water, a fragment 
of the rib of a fish, three feet long and nearly three 
inches round, incrusted in the rock itself, and which, 
though neither decayed nor petrified, was very rot- 
ten. After making fifty-eight miles they reached 
the entrance of a stream on the right, about twenty- 
two yards wide, where they encamped. 

" July 26. They started early the next morning. 
The river was now much divided by stony islands 
and bars, but the current, though swift, was regular, 
and there were many very handsome islands cover- 
ed with Cottonwood. On the left shore the bottoms 
were very extensive ; the right bank was formed of 
high cliffs of a whitish gritty stone ; and beyond, the 
country on both sides was diversified with waving 
plains covered with pine." * * * " At length, after 
coming sixty-two miles, they landed at the entrance 
of the Bighorn River ; but finding the point between 
the two composed of soft mud and sand, and liable 



296 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

to be overflowed, they ascended the Bighorn for 
half a mile, then crossed, and formed a camp on its 
lower side." * * * " At their junction the two riv- 
ers are nearly equal in breadth, extending from two 
hundred to two hundred and twenty yards ; but the 
Yellowstone contains much more water, being ten 
or twelve feet deep, while the depth of the Bighorn 
varies from five to seven feet. This is the river 
which had been described by the Indians as rising in 
the Rocky Mountains near the Yellowstone and the 
sources of the Platte, and then finding its way 
through the Cote Noir and the eastern range of the 
Rocky Mountains. In its long course it receives 
two large rivers, one from the north and the other 
from the south, and being unobstructed by falls, is 
navigable in canoes for a great distance, through a 
fine, rich, open country, supplied with a great quan- 
tity of timber, and inhabited by beaver and numer- 
ous species of other animals, among which are those 
from which it derives its name of Bighorn. There 
are no permanent settlements near it ; but the whole 
country watered by it is occasionally visited by 
roving bands of hunters of the Crow Tribe, by the 
Paunch Indians, also a band of Crows, and by the 
Castahanas, a small band of the Snake Indians. 

" July 27. They again set out very early, and on 
leaving the Bighorn, took a last look at the Rocky 
Mountains, which had been constantly in view from 
the 1st of May. The river now widened to the ex- 
tent of from four to six hundred yards, was much 
divided by islands and sand-bars, and its banks were 
generally low and falling in, and resembled those of 
the Missouri in many particulars; but its islands 
weremore numerous, its waters less muddy, and its 
current more rapid." * * * " Throughout the coun- 
try there were vast numbers of buffalo, which kept 
up a continued bellowing. Large herds of elk, also, 
were lying on every point, and were so gentle that 
they might be approached within twenty paces with* 



DRY BEDS OF RIVERS. 297 

)ut being alarmed. Several beaver, likewise, were 
seen in the course of the day. Deer, however, were 
by no means abundant, and antelopes as well as the 
bighorns were scarce." They made this day eighty 
and a half miles, and encamped on a large island in 
ihe evening. 

" July 28. At daylight the next morning they pro- 
ceeded down the smooth, gentle current, passing by 
a number of islands, and several creeks which were 
now dry. These are, indeed, more like the beds of 
the dry brooks of the Missouri, merely serving to 
carry off the vast quantities of water which fall on 
the plains, and bringing down also a great deal of 
mud, which contributes to the discoloration of the 
Yellowstone. The largest of these are, at the dis- 
tance of six miles, a creek eighty yards in width, 
coming from the northwest, and called by the In- 
dians Little Wolf River ; twenty-nine miles lower, 
another on the left, seventy yards in width, which 
they named Table Creek, from several mounds in 
the plains to the northwest, the tops of which re- 
semble a table ; and four miles farther, a stream of 
more importance, entering behind an island from 
the south. This last is about one hundred yards in 
width, with a bold current of muddy water, and is 
probably the river called by the Indians the Little 
Bighorn. There is also another stream on the right, 
twenty-five yards wide, the Indian name of which 
is Mashaskap. Nearly opposite to this creek they 
encamped, after making seventy-three miles."" 

The channel was now from five hundred yards to 
half a mile in width. They continued to pass the 
beds of rivers that were then dry ; and in the evening 
of the 29th, after making forty-one miles, they en- 
camped opposite to the entrance of a stream coming 
from the right, called by the Indians Lazeka, or 
Tongue River. 

" July 30. They set out at an early hour, and after 
passing, at the distance of twelve miles, the bed of a 



298 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

river jne hundred yards wide, but then nearly dry, 
reached, two miles below it, a succession of bad 
shoals, extending for six miles, the rock near their 
termination stretching nearly across the river, with 
a descent of about three feet. At this place they 
were obliged to let their canoes down by hand, 
for fear of their striking on some concealed rock; 
though, with a perfect knowledge of the shoals, a 
large canoe might be navigated down with safety. 
This is the most difficult part of the Yellowstone 
River, and they called it the Buffalo Shoal, from the 
circumstance of one of those animals being found 
there. The neighbouring cliffs on the right are about 
one hundred feet high, while on the left the country 
is low, but gradually rises, and at some distance 
from the shore presents the first appearance of 
burned hills to be seen on the Yellowstone." Twen- 
ty miles beyond they came to a rapid with a channel 
that was easily navigable on the left, and which they 
called Bear Rapid. They landed for the night about 
a mile and a half below the mouth of a stream com- 
ing in from the right, one hundred yards in width, to 
which they gave the name of the Redstone River, 
having made during the day forty-eight miles. 

"July 31. During the whole night," continues the 
Journal, " the buffalo were hovering about the camp, 
and excited much alarm lest they should tread on 
the boats and split them to pieces. They set out, as 
usual, and at the distance of two miles passed a 
rapid that was not very formidable, which they call- 
ed Wolf Rapid. At this place commences a range 
of highlands. They have no timber, and are com- 
posed of earth of different colours, without much 
rock, but supplied throughout with great quantities 
of coal or carbonated wood. After passing these 
hills the country again opens into extensive plains, 
like those passed the previous day, the river being 
diversified with islands, and having a great number 
of wide, but then nearly dry, brooks on either side. 



VAST HERDS OF BUFFALO. 299 

Thus eighteen miles below their camp there was a 
shallow, muddy stream on the left, one hundred 
yards wide, and supposed to be that known among 
the Indians by the name of Saasha, or Little Wolf 
River ; five miles below, on the right, another, forty 
yards wide and four feet in depth, which, from the 
steep coal-banks on each side, they called Oakta- 
roup, or Coal River ; and eighteen miles farther, a 
third, sixty yards in width, to which they gave the 
name of Gibson's River. Having made sixty-six 
miles, they stopped for the night; and just as they 
landed, perceived a white bear, which was larger 
than any of the party had before seen, devouring a 
dead buffalo on a sand-bar. Though they fired two 
balls into him, still lie swam to the mainland and 
walked along the sliore. Captain Clarke pursued 
him, and lodged two more balls in his body ; he bled 
profusely, but still mude his escape, as the night pre- 
vented them from foMowing him." 

The next day, August 1st, they had a strong head 
wind, which retarded their progress, and their situa- 
tion was rendered very uncomfortable by continual 
rain. " The current of the river," proceeds the Jour- 
nal, "was less rapid, had more soft mud, and was 
more obstructed by sand-bars, and the rain had 
greatly increased the quantity of water in the brooks. 
Buffalo now appeared in vast numbers. A herd 
happened to be crossing the river ; and such was the 
multitude of these animals, that for a mile in length, 
down the river, the lierd stretched as thick as they 
could swim, completely from one side to the other, 
and the party were obliged to stop for an hour. 
They consoled themselves for the delay by killing 
four of them, and then proceeded, till at the distance 
of forty-five miles they reached an island, below 
which two other herds of buffalo, as numerous as 
the first, soon afterward crossed the river.* 

* The Indians and hunters frequently destroy tljese animals 
in the most wanton manner. " I have seen dozens of buffalo,* 



300 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" August 2. The river was now about a mile wide 
less rapid, and more divided by islands, and bars of 
sand and mud, than heretofore ; the low grounds, too, 
were more extensive, and contained a greater quan- 
tity of Cottonwood, ash, and willows. On the north- 
west was a low, level plain, and on the southeast 
some rugged hills, on which we saw, without being 
able to approach them, some bighorns. Buffalo and 
elk, as well as their pursuers, the wolves, were in 
great numbers. On each side of the river there were 
several dry beds of streams, but the only one of any 
considerable size was one to which they gave the 
name of Ibex River, on the right, about thirty yards 
wide, and sixteen miles from their encampment of 
Ihe preceding night. The bear, which had given 
them so much trouble at the head of the Missouri, 
they found equally fierce here. One of these ani- 
mals, which was on a s^nd-bar as the boat passed, 
raised himself on his hind feet, and after looking at 
the party for a moment, plunged in and swam to- 
wards them ; but, after receiving three balls in the 
body, he turned and made for the shore. Towards 
evening they saw another enter the water to swim 
across ; when Captain Clarke directed the boat to- 
wards the shore, and just as the animal landed shot 
it in the head. It proved to be the largest female 
they had ever seen, and was so old that its tusks 
were worn quite smooth. The boats escaped with 
difficulty between two herds of buffalo that were 
crossing the river, and came near being again de- 
tained by them. Among the elk of this neighbour- 
hood they saw an unusual number of males, while 
higher up the herds consisted chiefly of females. 

says Townsend, " slaughtered merely for the tongues or for 
practice with the rifle, and I have also lived to see the very per- 
petrators of these deeds lean and lank with famine, when the 
meanest and most worthless parts of the poor animals they had 
80 inhumanly slaughtered would have been received and eaten 
with humble thaukfulnesa." 



DESCRIPTION OF THE YELLOWSTONE. 301 

After making eighty-four miles, they encamped 
among some ash and elm trees on the right. They 
might be said rather to have passed the night than 
slept there, however, for the moschetoes were so 
troublesome that scarcely any of the party closed 
their eyes. 

" August 3. They set out early in the morning to 
escape the persecution of the moschetoes. At the 
distance of two miles they passed Field's Creek, a 
stream thirty-five yards wide, which enters on the 
right, immediately above a high bluff which is rapid 
ly sinking into the river. Here Captain Clarke went 
ashore in pursuit of some bighorns, but the mosche- 
toes were so numerous that he was unable to aim 
with certainty. He therefore returned to the ca- 
noes ; and, observmg a ram of the same species soon 
after, he sent on shore one of the hunters, who shot 
it, and it was preserved as a specimen. Eight miles 
below Field's Creek they reached the junction of 
the Yellowstone and the Missouri, and landed at the 
point where they had encamped on the 26th of 
April the previous year. The canoes were now un- 
loaded, and the baggage exposed to dry, as many of 
the articles were wet, and some of them quite spoiled. 

" The Rochejaune, or Yellowstone River, according 
to the Indian accounts, has its remote sources in the 
Rocky Mountains, near the peaks of the Rio del 
Norte, on the confines of New Mexico, to which 
country there is a good road for the whole distance 
along the banks of the Yellowstone. Its western 
waters are probably connected with those of Lew- 
is's River, while the eastern branches approach the 
heads of Clarke's River, of the Bighorn, and the 
Platte ; so that it waters the middle portion of the 
Rocky Mountains for several hundred miles, from 
northwest to southeast. Along its whole course, 
from the point where Captain Clarke reached it to 
the Missouri, a distance which he computed at eight 
hundred and thirty-seven miles, it is large, and nav 



302 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

igable for pirogues and even batteaux, there being 
none of the moving sand-bars which obstruct the 
navigation of the Missouri; while there is but one 
ledge of rocks, and this is not difficult to pass. Even 
its tributary streams, the Bighorn, Clarke's Fork, and 
Tongue River, may be ascended in boats for a con- 
siderable distance. The banks of the Yellowstone 
are low, but bold, and nowhere subject to be over- 
flowed, except for a short distance from the mount- 
ains. The predominating colour of its waters is a 
yellowish brown ; while those of the Missouri, which 
have more mud, are of a deep drab colour. The 
bed of the former is chiefly composed of loose peb- 
ble, which diminish in size, however, in descending 
the river, till, after passing the Lazeka, they cease 
as the river widens, and mud and sand below this 
form the greater part of the bottom. The current 
flows with a velocity constantly and equably decreas- 
ing in receding from the mountains. From the 
mountains to Clarke's Fork it may be estimated at 
four and a half miles an hour; thence as low as the 
Bighorn, at three and a half; between that and the 
Lazeka, at three ; from that river to the Wolf Rapid, 
at two and three quarter miles ; and from thence to 
the mouth of the river, at two miles per hour. 

" The appearance and character of the country 
present nearly similar varieties of fertile, rich, open 
lands. Above Clarke's Fork it consists of high 
waving plains, bordered by stony hills, partially cov- 
ered with pine : the middle portion, as low as Buffa- 
lo Shoal, contains less timber, and the number of 
trees diminishes in proceeding lower down, till, 
where the river widens, the country spreads itself 
into extensive plains. Like all the branches of the 
Missouri which penetrate the Rocky Mountains, the 
Yellowstone and its tributary streams within the dis- 
trict of country beyond Clarke's Fork abound in 
beaver and otter: a circumstance which strongly 
recommends the mouth of the latter river as a ju 



TRADING POST ON THE YELLOWSTONE. 303 

dicious position for a trading establishment. To 
such an establishment at that point, the Shosho- 
nees both from within and westward of the Rocky- 
Mountains would wiUingly resort, as they would be 
farther from the Blackfoot Indians and the Minne- 
tarees of Fort de Prairie than in trading with any 
factories on the Missouri. The same motive of 
personal safety would probably induce many of the 
tribes on the Columbia and Lewis Rivers to prefer 
this place to the mouth of Maria's River, at least for 
some years ; and as the Crow and Paunch Indians, 
the Castahanas, and the Indians residing south of 
Clarke's Fork, would also be induced to visit it, this 
position might be considered as one of the best 
points for the western fur-trade. The adjacent coun- 
try, too, possesses a sufficiency of timber, an advan- 
tage which is not found anywhere between Clarke's 
Fork and the Rocky Mountains.* 

" August 5. Their camp became absolutely unin- 
habitable from the multitudes of moschetoes ; nor 
could the men either work in preparing skins for 
clothing, or hunt in the low timbered grounds ; in 

♦ The American Fur Company have for many years had a 
fort at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, and one also at 
the junction of the Teton and the Missouri, in the heart of the 
buffalo country. In the year 1832, a steamboat in the service 
of the Company ascended the Missouri from St. Louis to the 
post at the mouth of the Yellowstone, which was higher than 
any steamboat had proceeded before. On board this boat, Mr. 
Catlin, well known as the founder and proprietor of the Indian 
Gallery, made his first incursion into the Indian country; and 
at this point, surrounded by different Indian tribes, and in daily 
intercourse with their chiefs, he commenced his indefatigable 
labours. In these labours he enthusiastically persevered for 
several successive years, through the wide regions between the 
Great Northern Lakes and the Red River, the Rocky Mount- 
ains and the Mississippi. It is needless to say, that by his de- 
lineation of Indian life and manners, his portraits of the native 
chiefs, and the rich collections of liis museum, he has done 
more than any other individual towards presenting the living 
image of a race which is seemingly fast passing away. 
II.— Aa 



304 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

short, there was no method of escape but by going 
on the sand-bars in the river, where, when the wind 
blew, the insects did not venture." * * * " Captain 
Clarke therefore determined to remove to some spot 
that would be free from moschetoes, and afford more 
game. After writing a note to Captain Lewis, there- 
fore, to inform him of his intention, he stuck it on a 
pole at the confluence of the two rivers, loaded the 
canoes at five in the afternoon, and proceeded down 
the river to the second point, where he encamped on 
a sand-bar ; but here their tormentors appeared to be 
even more numerous than above. The face of the 
Indian child was swollen with the bites of these in- 
sects, nor could the men procure scarcely any sleep 
during the night. 

" August 5. Finding their situation intolerable 
where they were, they proceeded farther down. On 
the way^ Captain Clarke went on shore, and ascend- 
ed a hill in pursuit of a bighorn ; but the moschetoes 
were in such multitudes that he could not keep 
them from the barrel of his rifle long enough to take 
aim. At about ten o'clock, however, a light breeze 
sprung up from the northwest, and in some measure 
dispersed them. Captain Clarke then landed on a 
sand-bar, where he intended to wait for Captain 
Lewis ; but, not finding any buffalo in the neighbour- 
hood, he proceeded on again in the afternoon, and 
after killing a large white bear, encamped under a 
high bluff, exposed to a light breeze from the south- 
west, which drove away the moschetoes." 

The next day they continued to descend, and en- 
camped on a sand-bar below the mouth of White- 
earth River; and on the 7th, after proceeding till six 
in the evening, they again landed on a sand-bar for 
the night. 

" August 8. In the morning they were here joined 
by Sergeant Pryor, accompanied by Shannon, Hall, 
and Windsor, but without the horses. They stated 
that, the second day after leaving the party, they 



SKIN CANOES. 305 

halted to let the horses graze near the bed «f a large 
creek which contained no running water, but that, 
soon after, a shower of rain fell, and the creek swell- 
ed so suddenly that several horses which had stray- 
ed across it while dry could return only by swim- 
ming. They formed their camp at this place, but 
were astonished the next morning at not being able 
to find a single one of their horses. They immedi- 
ately examined the neighbourhood, and soon discov- 
ering the track of the Indians who had stolen the 
horses, they pursued them for five miles, when they 
came to the place where the fugitives divided into 
two parties. They now followed the largest party 
five miles farther, when, losing all hopes of over- 
taking them, they returned to the camp, and packing 
the baggage on their backs, pursued a northeast 
course towards the Yellowstone. The following 
night a wolf bit Sergeant Pryor through the hand as 
he lay asleep, and made an attempt to seize Wind- 
sor, when Shannon got sight of him, and shot him. 
They passed over an open, broken country, and hav- 
ing reached the Yellowstone near Pompey's Pillar, 
they determined to descend it, and for this purpose 
made two skin canoes, such as they had seen among 
the Mandans and the Ricaras. Tliey are construct- 
ed in the following manner: two sticks of about an 
inch and a quarter in diameter are tied together so 
as to form a round hoop, which serves for the gun- 
wale, while a second hoop for the bottom is made 
in the same way, both being secured by sticks of 
the same size extended from the hoops, and fast- 
ened to them and to each other by thongs. Over 
this frame the skin is drawn closely and tied with 
thongs, so as to form a perfect basin of about sev- 
en feet in diameter and sixteen inches in depth, 
strengthened by sixteen ribs or cross-sticks, and ca- 
pable of carrying six or eight men with their bur- 
dens. Being unacquainted with the river, they 
thought it most prudent to divide their guns and am 



306 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 

munition, so that in case of accident all might not 
be lost, and for this purpose built two of these ca- 
noes. In these frail vessels they embarked, and 
were not a little surprised at the perfect safety with 
which they passed over the most difficult shoals aiul 
rapids, without taking in any water, even in tho 
highest winds. 

" On reaching the confluence of the Yellowstone 
and Missouri, Sergeant Pryor took down the note 
from the pole, supposing that Captain Lewis had al- 
ready passed ; and now learning where the party 
were, he pressed on with his skin canoes to join 
them. 

" The day was spent in hunting, in order to pro- 
cure skins to trade with the Mandans ; for, having 
now neither horses nor merchandise, their only re- 
source to obtain corn and beans was to lay in a 
stock of skins, which those Indians greatly ad- 
mire." 

The next day they continued their route down the 
river till late in the evening, and encamped on the 
southeast side, where they remained until the 11th. 
"In the low grounds of the river," continues the 
Journal, " Captain Clarke found a species of cherry 
which he had never seen before, and which seems 
peculiar to this small district of country, though 
even here it is not very abundant. The men also 
dug up quantities of a large and very insipid root, 
called by the Indians hankee, and by the engages the 
white apple. It is used by them in a dry, pounded 
state, to mix with their soup ; but our men boiled it 
and ate it with meat. In descending the river the 
day before, the squaw brought in a large, well-fla- 
voured gooseberry, of a rich crimson colour ; and 
also a deep purple berry, being a species of currant 
common along this river as low as the Mandans, and 
called by the engages the Indian currant. 

"August 11. They set out early in the morning, 
luid at about ten o'clock landed on a sand-bar for the 



THEY MEET TWO TRADERS. 307 

purpose of taking breakfast and drying their meat. 
At noon they started again, and after proceeding 
about two miles, observed a canoe near the shore. 
They immediately landed, and were no less surpri- 
sed than gratified at discovering two men by the 
names of Dickson and Hancock, who had come from 
the Illinois on a hunting excursion up the Yellow- 
stone. They had left the Illinois in the summer of 
1804, and spent the last winter with the Tetons, in 
company with a Mr. Ceautoin, who came there as a 
trader, and whom they had robbed, or, in other 
words, taken all his merchandise and given him a 
few robes in exchange. These men had met the 
boat we had despatched from Fort Mandan, on board 
of which they were told there was a Ricara chief on 
his way to Washington, and also a party of Yank- 
ton chiefs, accompanying Mr. Durion on a visit of 
the same kind. We were sorry to learn that the 
Mandans and Minnetarees were at war with the 
Ricaras, and had killed two of them. The Assini- 
boins, too, were at war with the Mandans. They 
had, in consequence, prohibited the Northwest Com- 
pany from trading to the Missouri, and evl^n killed 
two of their traders near Mouse River, and were now 
lying in wait for Mr. M'Kenzie of that Company, 
who had been for a long time amohg the Minneta- 
rees. These appearances were rather unfavourable 
to the project of carrying some of the chiefs to the 
United States ; but we still hoped that by effecting a 
peace between the Mandans, Minnetarees, and Ric- 
aras, the views of our government might still be 
accomplished. 

" After leaving these trappers. Captain Clarke 
went on and encamped nearly opposite to the en- 
trance of Goatpen Creek, where the party were again 
assailed by their old enemies the moschetoes." 



3QS LEWIS AND Clarke's e2?editio5^. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Captain Clarke and his Party are overtaken by the Detachmen' 
under Caplain Lewis, and they all descend the Missouri to- 
gether. — They revisit the Minnetaree Indians, and hold 9 
Council with that Nation, as well as the Mahahas. — Captain 
Clarke endeavours to persuade their Chiefs 10 accompany him 
to the United States, which they decline on Account of theii 
Fears of the Sioux in their Passage down the River. — Colter, 
one of the Party, requests and obtains Liberty to remain 
among the Indians, for the Purpose of hunting Beaver. — 
Friendly Deportment of the Mandans. — Council held by Cap- 
tain Clarke with the Chiefs of the diiferent Villages. — The 
Chief named Big White, with his Wife and Son, agrees to ac- 
company the Party to the United States. — He takes an atfect- 
ing Farewell of his Nation. — Chaboneau, with his Wife, de- 
clmes going to the United States, and they are left among the 
Indians. — The Party at length proceed on their Route. — They 
arrive among the Ricaras.— Character of the Chayennes, their 
Dress, Habits, &c. — Captain Clarke offers a Medal to the 
Chief of this Nation, which he at first refuses, believing it to 
be Medfcine, but which he is afterward prevailed on to ac- 
cept. — The Ricaras decline permitting one of their Number to 
accompany Captain Clarke to the United States, preferring to 
wait the Return^ of their Chief who had already gone. — The 
Party proceed rapidly down the River. — Prepare to defend 
themselves against the 'I'etons. — Incredible Number of BufTa 
lo seen near White Kiver. — Tliey meet with the Tetons, and 
decline their Invitations to Land. — Intrepidity of Captain 
Clarke. 

" August 12. The party continued slowly to de- 
scend the river. One of the skin canoes had by ac- 
cident a small hole made in it, and they halted for 
the purpose of covering" it with a piece of elkskin, 
and also to wait for two of the party who were be- 
hind. While there, about noon ihey were overjoy- 
ed at seeing the boats of the other party heave in 
sight; but this feeling was changed into alarm on 
perceiving them reach the shore without Captain 



THE TWO PARTIES MEET. 309 

Lewis, who had been wounded, they were informed, 
the day before, and was then lying in the pirogue. 

" After giving to his wound all the attention in our 
power," proceeds the narrative, " we remained here 
for some time, during which we were overtaken by 
our two men, accompanied by Dickson and Han- 
cock, who wished to go with us as far as the Man- 
dans. The party being now happily reunited, we 
left the two skin canoes, and at about three o'clock 
all embarked on board the boats. The wind was, 
however, very high from the southwest, accompa- 
nied with rain, so that we did not proceed far before 
we halted for the night on a sand-bar. Captain 
Lewis's wound was now sore and somewhat pain- 
ful. The next day, 

" August 13, we set out by sunrise, and with a 
strong breeze from the northwest proceeded on 
rapidly. At eight o'clock we passed the mouth of 
the Little Missouri. Some Indians were seen at a 
distance below in a skin canoe, and were probably 
some of the Minnetarees on their return from a 
hunting excursion, as we passed one of their camps 
on the southwest side, where they had left a canoe. 
Two other Indians were seen far off on one of the 
hills, and we therefore expected soon to meet with 
our old acquaintances the Mandans. At sunset we 
arrived at the entrance of Miry River, and encamp- 
ed on the northeast side, having come by the aid of 
the wind and our oars a distance of eighty-six miles. 
The air was cool, and the moschetoes now ceased to 
trouble us as they had done. 

" August 14. We again set out at sunrise, and at 
length approached the grand village of the Minne- 
tarees, where the natives had collected to view us 
as we passed. We fired the blunderbuss several 
times by way of salute, and soon after landed near 
the village of the Mahahas or Shoe Indians, and 
were received by a crowd of people, who came to 
welcome us on our return. Among these were the 



310 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

principal chief of the Mahahas, and the chief of the 
Little Minnetaree village, both of whom expressed 
great pleasure at seeing us again ; but the latter 
wept most bitterly. On inquiring the cause, it ap- 
peared that his tears were excited by the sight of us 
renunding him of his son, who had been lately killed 
by the Blackfoot Indians. After remaining there a 
few minutes, we crossed to the Mandan village of 
the Black Cat, where all the inhabitants seemed very 
much gratified at seeing us. We immediately sent 
Chaboneau with an invitation for the Minnetarees 
to visit us, and despatched Drewyer to the village 
of the Mandans, to bring Jesseaume as an interpret- 
er. Captain Clarke, in the mean time, walked up 
to the village of Black Cat, and smoked and ate 
with that chief. This village had been rebuilt since 
our departure, and was now much smaller; a quarrel 
having arisen among its inhabitants, in consequence 
of which a number of famihes had removed to the 
opposite side of the river. 

" On the arrival of Jesseaume, Captain Clarke 
addressed the chiefs. He spoke to them new, he 
said, in the same language he had done before ; and 
repeated his invitation to them to accompany him 
to the United States, to hear in person the counsels 
of their great father, who could at all times punish 
his enemies. In reply, Black Cat declared that he 
wished to visit the United States, and to see his 
great father, but was afraid of the Sioux, who had 
killed several of the Mandans since our departure, 
and who were now on the river below, and would 
intercept him if he attempted to pass. Captain Clarke 
endeavoured to quiet his apprehensions by assuring 
him that he would not suffer the Sioux to injure 
any one of our red children who should accompany 
us, and that they should return loaded with pres- 
ents, and protected at the expense of the United 
Slates. The council was then broken up; after 
which we crossed and formed our camp on the oth- 



GREAT CHIEF OF THE MINNETAREES. 311 

er side of the river, where we should be sheltered 
from the rain. Soon after, the chief of the Mahahas 
informed us, that if we would send to his village we 
should have some corn. Three men were there- 
fore despatched, and returned soon after loaded 
with as much as they could carry. They were 
soon followed by the chief and his wife, to whom 
we presented a few needles and other articles suita- 
ble for a woman. 

" In a short time Borgne, the great chief of all 
the Minnetarees, came down, attended by several 
other chiefs, to whom, after smoking a pipe, Captain 
Clarke made a speech, renewing his assurances of 
friendship, and the invitation to accompany us to 
Washington. In reply, Borgne began by declaring 
that he much desired to visit his great father, but 
that the Sioux would certainly kill any of the Man- 
dans who should attempt to go down the river: 
they were bad people, and would not listen to any 
advice. When he s^w us last, we had told him that 
we would make peace with all the nations below, 
yet the Sioux had since killed eight of his tribe, and 
stolen a number of their horses. The Ricaras, too, 
had stolen their horses, and in the contest his peo- 
ple had killed two of them. Yet, in spite of these 
things, he had always his ears open to our coun- 
sels, and had actually made a peace with the Chay- 
ennes and the Indians of the Rocky Mountains. 
He concluded by saying that, however much dispo- 
sed they might be to visit the United States, the fear 
of the Sioux would prevent them from going with 
us. The council was then concluded, and soon af- 
terward an invitation to visit him was received from 
Black Cat, who, on Captain Clarke's arrival at his 
village, presented him with a dozen bushels of com, 
which lie said was a large proportion of what his peo- 
ple possessed ; and, after smoking a pipe, declared 
that his tribe were too apprehensive of the Sioux for 
any of them to venture with us. Captain Clarke 



312 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

then spoke to the chiefs and warriors of the village; 
he told them of his anxiety that some of them 
should see their great father, and hear his good 
words, and receive his gifts, and requested them to 
fix on some confidential chief who might accompa- 
ny us. To this they made the same objections as 
before, till at length a young man ofi'ered to go, and 
the warriors all assented to it. But the character 
of this man was known to be bad, and one of the 
parly with Captain Clarke informed him that at that 
moment he had in his possession a knife which he 
had stolen. Captain Clarke thereupon told the 
chief of the theft, and demanded the knife to be 
given up. This was done, with but a poor apology 
for having it in his possession ; and Captain Clarke 
then reproached the chiefs for wishing to send such 
a fellow to see and hear so distinguished a person 
as their great father. They all hung down their 
heads for some time, till Black Cat at length apolo- 
gized by saying that the danger was such that they 
were afraid to send any one of'their chiefs, as they 
should consider his loss almost inevitable. Captain 
Clarke remained some time with them, smoking, 
and relating various particulars of his journey ; and 
then left them to visit the second chief of the Man- 
dans, or Black Crow, who had expressed some dis- 
position to accompany us. He seemed well inclined 
to the journey, but was unwilling to decide till he 
had called a council of his people, which he intend- 
ed to do in the afternoon.. On returning to the 
camp. Captain Clarke found the chief of the Maha- 
has, and also the chief of the Little Minnetaree viU 
lage, who had brought a present of corn on theii 
mules, of which they have several, and which they 
procure from the Crow Indians, who either buy oi 
steal them on the frontiers of the Spanish settle- 
ments. A great number of the Indians visited us, 
either for the yjurpose of renewing their acquaint- 
ance, or of exchanging robes and other articles for 
the skins brought by the party. 



COLTER LEFT BEHIND. 313 

" in the evening Colter applied to us for permis- 
sion to join the two trappers who had accompanied 
us, and who now proposed an expedition up the riv- 
er, in which they were to find traps and to give him 
a share of the profits. The offer was a very advan- 
tageous one ; and as he had always performed his 
duty, and his services could be dispensed with, we 
consented to his going upon condition that none of 
the rest were to ask or expect a similar indulgence. 
To this they all cheerfully assented, saying that 
they wished Colter every success, and would not 
apply for liberty to separate before we reached St. 
Louis. We therefore supplied him, as did his com- 
rades also, with powder and lead, and a variety of 
articles which might be useful to him, and he left us 
the next day. The example of this man shows how 
easily men may be weaned from the habits of civil- 
ized life to the ruder, though scarcely less fascinating, 
manners of the woods. This hunter had now been 
absent for many years from the frontiers, and might 
naturally be presumed to have some anxiety, or at 
least curiosity, to return to his friends and his coun- 
try ; yet, just at the moment when he was approach- 
ing the frontiers, he was tempted by a hunting 
scheme to give up all those delightful prospects, and 
to go back without the least reluctance to the soli- 
tude of the vvilds. 

" In the evening, Chaboneau, who had been min- 
gling with the Indians, and learned what had taken 
place during our absence, informed us that, as soon 
as we had left the Minnetarees, they sent out a war 
party against the Shoshonees, whom they had at- 
tacked and routed, though in the engagement they 
lost two men, one of whom was the son of the chief 
of the Little Minnetaree village. Another war par- 
ty also went against the Ricaras, two of whom they 
had killed. A misunderstanding had likewise taken 
place between the Mandans and Minnetarees, in con- 
sequenc*^ of a dispute about a woman^ which had 



314 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

nearly occasioned a war ; but at length a pipe was 
presented by the Minnetarees, and a reconcihation 
took place. 

" August 16. Th3 Mandans had offered to give us 
some corn, and on sending this morning we found a 
greater quantity collected for our use than all our 
canoes would contain. We therefore thanked the 
chief, and took only six loads. At ten o'clock the 
chiefs of the different villages came down to smoke 
with us, and we embraced this opportunity to en- 
deavour to engage Borgne in our interest by the pres- 
ent of our swivel, which was no longer of any use, 
as it could not be discharged from our largest pi- 
rogue. It was now loaded, and the chiefs having 
been formed in a circle round it, Captain Clarke ad- 
dressed them with great ceremony. He said that 
he had listened with much attention to what had 
yesterday been declared by Borgne, whom he be- 
lieved to be sincere, and then reproached them with 
their disregard of our counsels, and their wars with 
the Shoshonees and Ricaras. Little Cherry, the old 
Minnetaree chief, answered that they had long stayed 
at home and listened to our advice, but that at last 
they went to war against the Sioux because they 
had stolen their horses and killed their companions ; 
and that, in an expedition against that people, they 
had met the Ricaras, who were on their way to strike 
them, when a battle ensued. But in future, he said, 
they would attend to our words and live in peace. 
Borgne, too, added, that his ears would always be 
open to the words of his good father, and shut against 
bad counsel. Captain Clarke then presented to him 
the swivel, which he told him had announced the 
words of his great father to all the nations we had 
seen ; and which, whenever it was fired, should re- 
call those which we had now delivered. The gun 
was then discharged, and Borgne had it conveye-d in 
great pomp to his village, when the council was ad- 
journed. 



CHABONEAU AND WIFE REMAIN. 315 

" In the afternoon Captain Clarke walked up to 
the village of Little Crow, taking a flag which he in- 
tended to present to him, but was surprised on being 
told by him that he had given up all intention of ac- 
companying us, refusing at the same time the flag. 
He found that this change was occasioned by a jeal- 
ousy between him and the principal chief, Big White : 
by the interference, of Jesseaume, however, the two 
chiefs were reconciled, and it was agreed that Big 
White himself should accompany us, with his wife 
and son. 

" August 17. The principal chiefs of the Minne- 
tarees now came down to bid us farewell, as none 
of them could be prevailed on to go with us. This 
circumstance induced our interpreter, Chaboneau, to 
remain here with his wife and child, as he could no 
longer be of use to us, and, although we offered to 
take him with us to the United States, he declined, 
saying that there he had no acquaintance, and no 
chance of making a livelihood, and preferred remain- 
ing among the Indians. This man had been very 
serviceable to us, and his wife was particularly use- 
ful among the Shoshonees : indeed, she had borne 
with a patience truly admirable the fatigues of so 
long a route, encumbered with the charge of an in- 
fant, who was then only nineteen months old. We 
therefore paid him his wages, amounting to five hun- 
dred dollars and thirty-three cents, including the price 
of a horse and a lodge purchased of him, and soon 
afterward dropped down to the village of Big White, 
attended on shore by all the Indian chiefs, who had 
come to take leave of him. We found him surround- 
ed by his friends, who sat in a circle smoking, while 
the women were crying. He immediately sent his 
wife and son, with their baggage, on board, accom- 
panied by the interpreter and his wife, and two chil- 
dren ; and then, after distributing among his friends 
some powder and ball which we had given him, and 
smoking a pipe, he went with us to the river side. 



316 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

The whole village crowded about us, and many of 
the people wept aloud at the departure of their chief. 

" As Captain Clarke was shaking hands with the 
principal chiefs of the different villages, they re- 
quested that he would sit with them a moment lon- 
ger. Being willing to gratify them, he stopped and 
ordered a pipe, when, after smoking it, they inform- 
ed him that they had not believed all that we told 
them at the time they first saw us ; but having 
now found that our words were all true, they would 
carefully remember them, and follow our advice ; 
and that he might tell their great father that the 
young men should remain at home, and not make 
war on any people except in their own defence. 
They requested him to tell the Ricaras to come and 
visit them, which they might do without fear, as 
they meant that nation no harm, but, on the contra- 
ry, were desirous of peace with them. On the Sioux, 
however, they could place, they said, no dependance, 
and must kill them whenever they sent war parties 
against their country. Captain Clarke replied that 
we had never insisted an their not defending them- 
selves, but only requested that they would not strike 
those whom we had taken by the hand ; that we 
would apprize the Ricaras of their friendly inten- 
tions ; and that, although we had not seen the Sioux 
with whom they were at war, we should relate their 
conduct to their great father, who would take meas- 
ures for effecting a general peace among all his red 
children. 

" Borgne now requested that we would take good 
care of the chief, who would report whatever their 
great father should say ; and the council then break- 
ing up, we took leave with a salute from a gun, and 
proceeded. On reaching Fort Mandan we found a 
few pickets standing on the river side, but all the 
houses except one had been accidentally burned. 
At the distance of eighteen miles we reached the 
old Ricara village, and encamped on the southwest 



BIG white's brother. 317 

Bide, the wind being too violent, and the waves too 
high, to permit our going any farther. 

" August 18. The same cause prevented us from 
setting out before eight o'clock in the morning. Soon 
after we had embarked, an Indian came running 
down to the beach, and appeared very anxious to 
speak to us. We therefore went ashore, and found 
it was the brollier of Big White, who was encamp- 
ed at no great distance, and hearing of our departure, 
had come to take leave of the chief. Big White 
gave his brother a pair of leggins, and they separa- 
ted in the most affectionate manner : we then con- 
tinued our voyage, though the wind and waves were 
still high. The Indian chief seemed quite satisfied 
with his treatment, and during the day employed 
himself in pointing out the ancient monuments of 
the Mandans, or in relating their traditions. At 
length, after making forty miles, we encamped on 
the northeast side, opposite to an old Mandan village, 
and below the mouth of Chesshetah River. 

" August 19. The wind was so violent that we 
were not able to proceed until four in the afternoon, 
and in the mean time the hunters had killed four elk 
and twelve deer. We then went on for ten miles, 
and came to a sand-bar. The wind and rain contin- 
ued through the night, and during the whole of the 
next day, 

" August 20, the waves were so high that one man 
was constantly occupied in bailing the boats. At 
noon we passed Cannonball River, and at three in 
the afternoon the mouth of Wardepon River, which 
bounds the country claimed by the Sioux ; and after 
proceeding eighty-one miles, landed for the night on 
a sand-bar. The plains were beginning to change 
their appearance, the grass assuming a yellowish 
colour. We this day saw great numbers of wolves, 
and some buffalo and elk, though these were by no 
means as abundant as on the Yellowstone. 

" Since we passed in 1804, a very obvious change 



318 LEWIS AND Clarke's extlditioN. 

had taken place in the course and appearance of ths 
Missouri. In places where, at that time, there were 
sand-bars, the current of the river now passed, and 
where the channel was then, there were, in turn, 
banks of sand. Sand-bars, then naked, were now 
covered with willows several feet high ; the entrances 
of some of the creeks and rivers had been changed 
by the quantity of mud thrown into them ; and in 
some of the bottoms there were layers of mud eight 
inches in depth. 

"August 21. We rose after a night of broken rest, 
having been much annoyed by moschetoes, and after 
putting our arms in order, to be prepared for any 
attack, continued our course. We soon met three 
traders, two of whom had wintered with us among 
the Mandans in 1804, and who were now on their 
way thither. They were out of powder and lead, 
and we supplied them with both. They informed 
us that seven hundred Sioux had passed the Ricara 
towns on their way to attack the Mandans and Min- 
netarees, leaving their women and children encamp- 
ed near the Big Bend of the Missouri ; but that the 
Ricaras had all remained at home, declining to take 
any part in the war. They also told us that the 
Pawnee or Ricara chief who had gone to the United 
States the spring before, died on his return near the 
Sioux River. 

" We then left them, and soon afterward arrived 
opposite to the upper Ricara villages. We saluted 
them with the discharge of four guns, which they 
answered in the same manner ; and on our landing 
we were met by the greater part of the inhabitants 
of each village, and also by a band of the Chayennes, 
who were encamped on a hill in the neighbourhood. 

"As soon as Captain Clarke stepped on shore, he 
was greeted by the two chiefs to whom we had giv- 
en medals in our former visit ; and as they and the 
rest appeared much rejoiced at our return, and de- 
sirous of hearing from the Mandans, he sat down 



INTERVIEW WITH THE RICARAS. 319 

on the bank, while the Ricaras and Chayennes form- 
^A a circle round him ; and, after smoking, he inform- 
ed them, as he had already done the Minnetarees, of 
the various tribes we had visited, and of our anxiety 
to promote peace among our red brethren. He then 
expressed his regret at their having attacked the 
Mandans, who had listened to our counsels, and had 
sent on a chief to smoke with them, and to assure 
them that they might now hunt in the plains, and 
visit the Mandan villages in safety, and he conclu- 
ded by inviting some of the chiefs to accompany us 
to Washington. The man whom we had acknowl- 
edged as the principal chief when we ascended the 
river, now presented another, who, he said, was a 
greater chief than himself; and to him, therefore 
he had surrendered the flag and medal with which 
we had honoured him. This chief, who had been 
absent at our former visit, was a man of thirty-five 
years of age, stout and good-looking, and called by 
the Indians Gray Eyes. 

" He now made a very animated reply. He de- 
Glared that the Ricaras were willing to follow the 
counsels we had given them ; but that a few of their 
bad young men would not live in peace, but had 
joined the Sioux, and thus embroiled them with the 
Mandans. These young men had, however, been 
driven out of the villages; and as the Ricaras 
were now separated from the Sioux, who were a 
bad people, and the cause of all their misfortunes, 
they desired to be at peace with the Mandans, 
and would receive them with kindness and friend- 
ship. Several of the chiefs, he said, were desirous 
of visiting their great father ; but as the chief who 
had gone to the United States the last summer had 
not returned, and they had some fears for his safety 
on account of the Sioux, they did not wish to leave 
home until they had heard from him. As to him- 
self, he should continue with his nation, to see that 
they followed our advice. 
II.— Bb 



320 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

" The sun being very hot, the chief of the Chay- 
ennes invited us to his lodge, which was at no great 
distance from the river. We followed him, and 
found a very large lodge, made of twenty buffalo 
skins, surrounded by eighteeli or twenty others of 
nearly equal size. The rest of the nation were ex- 
pected the next day, and would make the number 
of from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and 
fifty lodges, containing from three hundred and fifty 
to four hundred men, at which the men of the nation 
might be computed. These Chayennes are a fine- 
looking people, of large stature, with straight limhs, 
and high cheek-bones and noses, and of a complexion 
similar to that of the Ricaras. Their ears are cut at 
the lower part, but few wear ornaments in them. 
Their hair is generally cut over the eyebrows, and 
small ornaments hang from it down the cheeks, the 
remainder being either twisted with horse or buflfalo 
hair, and divided over each shoulder, or else flowing 
loosely behind. Their decorations consist chiefly 
of blue beads, shells, red paint, brass rings, bears' 
claws, and strips of otter skins, of which last they, 
as well as the Ricaras, are very fond. The women, 
however, are coarse in their features, with wide 
mouths, and ugly. Their dress consists of a habit 
reaching to the mid-leg, made of two equal pieces of 
leather, sewed from the bottom, with armholes, and 
with a flap hanging nearly half way down the body 
both before and behind. On these are burned vari- 
ous figures by means of an ignited stick, and they 
are adorned with beads, shells, and elk's tusks, which 
all the Indians greatly prize. The other ornaments 
are blue beads in the ears, but the hair is left plain, 
and flows down the back. The summer dress of 
the men is a simple bufi'alo robe, a cloth round the 
waist, moccasins, and occasionally leggins. Living 
remote from the whites, they are shy and cautious, 
but are peaceably disposed, and profess to make war 
against no people except the Sioux, with whom they ^ 



CURIOUS INDIAN SUPERSTITION. 321 

have been engaged in contests from lime immemo- 
rial. In their excursions they are accompanied by 
their dogs and horses, of which they have a great 
number ; the former serving to carry almost all their 
light baggage. 

" After smoking for some time, Captain Clarke 
gave a small medal to the Chayenne chief, explain- 
ing at the same time the meaning of it. He seemed 
alarmed at the present, and sending for a robe and a 
quantity of buffalo meat, he gave them to Captain 
Clarke, requesting him to take back the medal, as 
he knew that all white people were medicine, and he 
was afraid of everything which they might give to 
the Indians. Captain Clarke again explained his ob- 
ject in giving the medal, which, he said, was the 
medicine his great father had directed him to deliver 
to all their chiefs who should hsten to his word and 
follow his counsels ; and that, as he had done so, it 
had been given him as a proof that we believe him 
sincere. He now appeared satisfied, and receiving 
the medal, gave in return double the quantity of 
buffalo meat he had offered before. He seemed now 
quite reconciled to the whites, and requested that 
some traders might be sent among his people, who 
lived, he said, in a country full of beaver, but did not 
understand the best modes of catching them, and, 
farthermore, were deterred from it by having no 
market for them when caught. Captain Clarke 
promised that they should soon be supplied with 
goods, and taught the best mode of catching beaver. 

" Big White, chief of the Mandans, now addressed 
them at some length, explaining the pacific inten- 
tions of his nation ; and the Chayenne observed that 
both the Ricaras and Mandans seemed to be in fault ; 
but at the end of the council the Mandan chief was 
treated with much civility, and the greatest harmony 
prevailed between them. The great chief informed 
us, however, that none of the Ricaras could be pre- 
vailed on to accompany us till the return of the 



322 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

other chief; and that the Chayennes were a wild 
people, and afraid to go. He invited Captain Clarke 
to his house, and gave him two carrots of tobacco, 
two beaver skins, and a trencher of boiled corn and 
beans. It is the custom of the nations on the Mis- 
souri to offer to all white men food and refreshment 
when they first enter their tents. 

" Captain Clarke now returned to the boats, where 
he found the chief of the lower village, who had cut 
off part of his hair, and disfigured himself in such a 
manner that we did not recognise him until he ex- 
plained that he was in mourning for his nephew, 
who had been killed by the Sioux. He proceeded 
with us to the village on the island, where we were 
met by all the inhabitants. The second chief, on 
seeing the Mandan, began to speak to him in a loud 
and threatening tone, till Captain Clarke declared 
that the Mandans had listened to our councils, and 
that, if any injury was attempted to be done to the 
chief, we should defend him to the utmost extrem- 
ity. He then invited the chief to his lodge, and 
after a very ceremonious smoking, assured Captain 
Clarke that he was as safe as at his home, for the 
Ricaras, as well as the Mandans, had opened their 
ears to our councils. This was repeated by the 
great chief; and the Mandan and Ricara chiefs now 
smoked and conversed with great apparent harmo- 
ny, after which we returned to our boats. The whole 
distance made this day was twenty-nine miles. 

" August 22. It rained the whole night, so that 
we all rose in the morning quite wet, and were 
about proceeding, when Captain Clarke received 
from the chiefs a request to visit them. They made 
to him several speeches, in which they observed 
that they must decline going with us, as their coun- 
tryman had not yet returned ; and that, although all 
their troubles came from the Sioux, yet, as they had 
more horses than they wanted, and were in want 
of guns and powder, they should be obliged to trade 



CAPTAIN LEWIS RECOVERS. 323 

With them once more for those articles, after which 
they would break off all connexion with them. He 
then returned to the boats, and after taking leave 
of the natives, who seemed to regret our departure, 
and firing a salute of two guns, we proceeded on 
our way. We made only seventeen miles this day, 
being obliged to land near Wetarboo River to dry 
our baggage ; besides which, the sand-bars were very 
numerous, as the river became wider below the Ric- 
ara villages. Captain Lewis was now so far recov- 
ered that he was able to walk a little for the first 
time. While here we noticed that the Mandans, 
as well as the Minnetarees and Ricaras, keep their 
horses in the same lodges with themselves." 

During the two following days they made a dis- 
tance of eighty-three miles, and in the morning of 
the 24th encamped at the gorge of the Lookout 
Bend. 

" August 25. Before daylight," continues the Jour- 
nal, " we sent five of the men ahead to hunt on 
Pawnee Island, and followed them soon after. At 
eight o'clock we reached the entrance of the Chay- 
enne, where we remained till noon to take a merid- 
ian observation. At three o'clock we passed the 
old Pawnee village, near which we had met the Te- 
tons in 1804, and encamped in a large bottom on 
the northeast side, a little below the mouth of No- 
timber Creek. Just above our camp the Ricaras 
had formerly a large village on each side of the riv- 
er, and there were still to be seen the remains of 
five villages on the southwest side below the Chay- 
' enne, and one on Lahoocat's Island, all of which 
had been destroyed by the Sioux. The weather 
was clear and calm, but by the help of our oars we 
made forty-eight miles." * * * 

" August 26. We set out early, and at nine o'clock 
reached the entrance of Teton River, below which 
were a raft and a skin canoe, which made us sus- 
pect that the Tetons were in the neighbourhood. 



324 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

Our arms, therefore, were put in order, and every 
preparation was made to revenge the slightest insult 
from those people, who required, we knew, to be 
treated with rigour. We went on, however, with- 
out seeing any of them, though we were obliged to 
land near Smoke Creek, and remained there for two 
hours to stop a leak in the pirogue. Here we saw- 
great quantities of plums and grapes, but they were 
not yet ripe. At five o'clock we passed Louisville's 
Fort, on Cedar Island, twelve miles below which 
we encamped, having made sixty miles by using 
our oars, with the wind ahead during the greater 
part of the day." 

Setting out before sunrise the next morning, at 
the distance of a few miles they landed on a sand- 
bar near Taylor's River. " Near this place," says 
the Journal, " we observed the first signs of the 
wild turkey, and not long after landed in the Big 
Bend, and killed a fine fat elk. Towards night we 
heard the bellowing of the buffalo bulls on the low- 
er island of the Big Bend ; and following the direc- 
tion of this agreeable sound, we killed some of the 
cows, and encamped on the island, forty-five miles 
from our camp of the previous night. 

*' August 28. We started at an early hour, having 
first despatched some hunters ahead, with orders to 
join us at our old camp a httle above Corvus Creek, 
where we intended to remain one day, for the pur- 
pose of procuring the skins and skeletons of some 
animals, such as the mule-deer, the antelope, the 
barking squirrel, the magpie, &c., which we were 
desirous of taking with us. After rowing thirty-five . 
miles, we landed at twelve o'clock, and formed our 
camp m a high bottom, thinly timbered, and covered 
with grass. Soon after our arrival the squaws and 
several of the men went to the bushes near the riv- 
er, and brought a great quantity of large, well-fla- 
voured plums, of three different species. 

" The hunters returned in the afternoon without 



IMMtJNSE NUMBERS OF BUFFALO. 325 

having been able to procure any of the game we 
wished except the barking squirrel, though they kill- 
ed four common deer, and had seen large herds of 
buffalo, of which they brought in two." 

Setting out at ten o'clock the pext morning, at a 
short distance they passed the mouth of White Riv- 
er, the water of which was nearly of the colour 
of milk. As they were much occupied with hunting, 
they made but twenty miles. " The buffalo," says the 
Journal, " were now so numerous, that from an em- 
inence we discovered more than we had ever seen 
before at one time; and though it was impossible 
accurately to calculate their number, they darken- 
ed the whole plain, and could not have been, we were 
convinced, less than twenty thousand. With re- 
gard to game in general, we have observed that wild 
animals are usually found in the greatest numbers in 
the country lying between two nations at war. 

"August 30. We set out at the usual time, but 
after going some distance were obliged to stop two 
hours for one of our hunters. During this time we 
made an excursion to a large orchard of delicious 
plums, where we were so fortunate as to kill two 
buck elks. We then proceeded down the river, and 
were about landing at the place where we had agreed 
to meet all the hunters, when several persons ap- 
peared on the high hills to the northeast, and by the 
help of our spyglass we distinguished them to be 
Indians. We landed on the southwest side of the 
river, and immediately after saw on a height oppo- 
site to us about twenty men, one of whom, from 
his blanket greatcoat and a handkerchief round his 
head, we took for a Frenchman. At the same time, 
about eighty or ninety Indians, armed with guns 
and bows and arrows, came out of a wood some 
distance below them, and fired a salute, which we 
returned. From their hostile appearance we were 
apprehensive that they might be Tetons ; but as, 
from the country through which they were passing, 



32G LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

it was possible they might be Yanktons, Pawnees, 
or Mahas, we did not know in what way to receive 
them. In order, however, to ascertain who they 
were without risk to the party, Captain Clarke 
crossed, with three persons who could speak differ- 
ent Indian langucfges, to a sand-bar near the oppo- 
site side, for the purpose of conversing with them. 
Eight young men soon met him on the sand-bar, but 
none of them could understand either the Pawnee 
or Maha interpreter. They were then addressed in 
the Sioux language, and answered that they were 
Tetons, of the band headed by the Black Baffalo, 
Tahtackasabah. It was the same band which had 
attempted to stop us in 1804; and being now less 
anxious about off'ending this mischievous tribe. Cap- 
tain Clarke told them that they had been deaf to 
our counsels, had ill treated us two years ago, and 
had abused all the whites who had since visited 
them. He believed them, he added, to be bad peo- 
ple, and they must return, therefore, to their com- 
panions, for if they crossed over to our camp we 
would put them all to death. They asked for some 
corn, which Captain Clarke refused them : they then 
requested permission to come and visit us, but he 
ordered them back. He then returned, and our arms 
were all made ready in case of an attack. Bui 
when these Indians reached their comrades, and in- 
formed their chiefs of our determination, they all 
set off for their own camp : some of them, however, 
halted on a rising ground, and abused us with their 
tongues very copiously, threatening to kill us if we 
came across. We took no notice of this for some 
time, as three of our hunters were absent, and we 
were afraid the Indians might meet them ; but as 
soon as they joined us we embarked, and, to see 
what the Indians would attempt, steered near their 
side of the river. At this the party on the hill 
seemed not a little agitated : some of them set off 
for their camp, others walked about, and one man 



HOSTILITY OF THE TETONS. 327 

came towards the boats and invited us to land. As 
he approached, we recognised him to be the same 
who had accompanied us for two days in 1804, and 
was considered a friend of the whites. Unwilling, 
however, to have any intercourse with these people, 
we declined his invitation, upon which he returned 
to the hill, and struck the earth three times with his 
gun, a great oath among the Indians, who consider 
swearing by the earth as one of the most solemn 
forms of imprecation. At the distance of six miles 
we stopped on a bleak sand-bar, where we thought 
ourselves secure from any attack during the night, 
and also safe from the moschetoes. We had made 
but twenty-two miles, but in the course of the day 
had killed a mule-deer, an animal we were very 
anxious to obtain. About eleven in the evening the 
wind shifted to the northwest, and it began to rain, 
accompanied by thunder and lightning, after which 
the wind changed to the southwest, and blew with 
such violence that we were obliged to hold fast the 
canoes, for fear of their being driven from the sand- 
bar : still, the cables of two of them broke, and two 
others were blown quite across the river; nor was 
it till two o'clock that the whole party were reas- 
sembled, waiting in the rain for daylight." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Party return in Safety to St. Louis. 

*' August 31. We examined our arms, and proceed 
ed with the wind in our favour. For some time we 
saw different Indians on the hills, but at length lost 
sight of them. In passing the Dome, and the first 
village of barking squirrels, we stopped and killed 
II.— C r 



328 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

two fox squirrels, an animal we had not seen on the 
river higher than this place; and at night we en- 
camped Dn the northeast side, after making a dis- 
tance of seventy miles. We had seen no game for 
some time past on the river, but in the evening the 
moschetoes were not slow to discover us. 

" September 1. We set out early, but were shortly 
compelled to land, and wait for half an hour, till a 
thick fog dispersed. At nine o'clock we passed the 
mouth of the Quicurre, which presented the same 
appearance as when we ascended, the water being 
rapid and of a milky-white colour. Two miles be- 
low, several Indians ran down to the bank and beck- 
oned us to land ; but as they appeared to be Tetons, 
and of a war party, we paid no attention to them, 
oxcept to inquire to what tribe they belonged : our 
Sioux interpreter,'however, did not understand much 
of their language, and they probably mistook his 
question. As one of our canoes was behind, we 
were afraid of its being attacked ; we therefore land- 
ed on an open, commanding situation, out of view 
of the Indians, to wait for it. W^e had not been in 
this position fifteen minutes, when we heard several 
guns, which we immediately concluded were fired 
at the men in the canoe ; and being determined to 
protect them against any number of Indians, Captain 
Clarke, with fifteen men, ran up the river, while Cap- 
tain Lewis hobbled up the bank, and formed the rest 
of the party in such a manner as would best enable 
them to protect the boats. On turning a point of 
the river, however. Captain Clarke was agreeably 
surprised at seeing the Indians still in the place 
where we had left them, and our canoe at the dis- 
tance of a mile. He now^ went on to a sand-bar, and, 
the Indians crossing over to him, he gave them his 
hand, when they informed him that they had been 
amusing themselves with shooting at an old keg we 
had thrown into the river as it was floating down. 
We now found them to be part of a band of eighty 



INTERVIEW WITH THE YANKTONS. 329 

lodges of Yanktons on Plum Creek, and therefore 
invited iheni down to our camp. After smoking 
several pipes, we told them that we had mistaken 
them for Tetons, and had intended putting every one 
of them to death if they had fired at our canoe ; but 
finding them Yanktons, who were good men, we 
were glad to take them by the hand as faithful chil- 
dren, who had opened their ears to our counsels. 
They saluted the Mandan with great cordiality, and 
one of them said that their ears had indeed been 
open, and that they had followed our advice since 
we gave a medal to their great chief, and should con- 
tinue to do so. We now tied a piece of riband to 
the hair of each Indian, and gave them some corn. 
We also made a present of a pair of leggins to the 
principal chief, when we took our leave of them, hav- 
ing been previously overtaken by our canoe. At 
two o'clock we landed to hunt on Bonhomme Island, 
but obtained a single elk only. The bottom on the 
north side is very rich, and was so thickly over- 
grown with pea- vines and grass, interwoven with 
grape-vines, that some of the party who attempted 
to hunt there were obliged to leave it and ascend 
the plain, where they found the grass nearly as high 
as their heads. These plains are much more fertile 
below than above the Quicurre, and the whole coun- 
try was now very beautiful. After making fifty-two 
miles against a head wind, we landed for the night 
on a sand-bar opposite to Calumet Blutf, where we 
had encamped on the 1st of September, 1804, and 
where our flagstaff was still standing. We suffered 
very much from the moschetoes till the wind be- 
came so high as to blow them away. 

" September 2. At eight o'clock we passed the 
mouth of the Jacques River, but soon after were com- 
pelled to land, in consequence of the high wind from 
the northeast, and to remain till sunset, after which 
we went on to a sand-bar twenty-two miles from our 
camp of the previous evening. While we were on 



330 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

shore we killed three buflfaloes and four prairie-fowl, 
which were the first of the latter we had seen in de- 
scending. Two turkeys were also killed, and were 
very much admired by our Indians, who had never 
seen that bird before." * * * 

" September 3. Towards daylight we started again, 
and at eleven o'clock we passed the Redstone. The 
river was crowded with sand-bars, which were now 
very differently situated from what they had been 
when we ascended ; but, notwithstanding these and 
the head wind, we had made sixty miles towards 
night, when, seeing two boats and several men on 
the shore, we landed, and found a Mr. James Airs, a 
partner of a house at Prairie de Chien, who had 
come from Mackinaw by the way of St. Louis, with 
a license to trade among the Sioux for one year. 
He had started two canoes loaded with merchandise, 
but lost many of his most valuable articles in a squall 
some time before. After so long an absence, the 
sight of any one who could give us information of 
our country was peculiarly delightful, and much of 
the night was spent in making inquiries as to what 
had occurred since we had left. We found Mr. Aira 
a very friendly and liberal gentleman, and when we 
proposed to him to purchase a small quantity of to- 
bacco, to be paid for at St. Louis, he very readily 
furnished every man of the party with as much as 
he could use during the rest of the voyage, and in- 
sisted also on our receiving a barrel of flour. This 
last was very acceptable, though we had still a little 
flour, which we had deposited at the mouth of Ma 
ria's River. We could give in return only about six 
bushels of corn, which was all that we could spare 
The next morning, 

" September 4, we left Mr. Airs at about eight 
o'clock, and after passing the Big Sioux River, stop- 
ped at noon near Floyd's Bluff. On ascending the 
hill we found that the grave of Floyd had been open- 
ed, and was now half uncovered. We filled it up, 



THEY MEET A TRADING PARTY. 33 i 

and then continued down to our old camp near the 
Maha village, where all our baggage, which had been 
wet by the rain in the night, was exposed to dry. 
There was no game on the river except wild geese 
and pelicans. Near Floyd's grave were some nour- 
ishing black-walnut trees, the first we had seen on 
our return. At night we heard the report of several 
guns in a direction towards the Maha village, and 
supposed it to be a signal for the arrival of some 
trader. But not meeting any one when we set out 
the next morning, 

" September 5, we concluded that the firing was 
merely to announce the return of the Mahas to their 
village, this being the season at which they come 
home from buffalo hunting, to take care of their 
corn, beans, and pumpkins. The river was now 
more crooked, the current more rapid, and crowded 
with snags and sawyers, while the bottoms on both 
sides were well supplied with timber. At three 
o'clock we passed Bluestone Bluff, where the river 
leaves the highlands and meanders through a low, 
rich bottom, and encamped for the night after ma- 
king seventy-three miles. 

" September 6. The wind continued ahead, but the 
moschetoes were so tormenting that to remain was 
more unpleasant than to proceed, however slowly, 
and we therefore started. Near the Little Sioux 
River we met a trading-boat belonging to Mr. Au- 
gustus Chateau, of St. Louis, with several men on 
their way to trade with the Yanktons at the Jacques 
River. We obtained from them a gallon of whiskey, 
and gave each of the party a dram, which was the 
first spirituous liquor any of them had tasted since 
the 4th of July, 1805." 

During this and the following day they made a 
distance of seventy-four miles, encamping, as usual, 
on sand-bars for the night, to avoid the moschetoes, 
though even here they were greatly tormented by 
them. 



^^ 



332 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 



a 



September 8. We set out early," continues the 
Journal, " and stopped for a short time at Council 
Bluffs to examine the situation of the place, when 
we were confirmed in our behef that it would be a 
very eligible spot for a trading establishment. Be- 
ing anxious to reach the Platte, we plied our oars so 
well that by night we had made seventy-eight miles, 
and landed at our old White Catfish encampment, 
twelve miles above that river. We could not but 
here remark the wonderful evaporation from the Mis- 
souri, which does not appear to contain more water, 
nor is its channel wider than at one thousand miles 
nearer its source, though within the intervening dis- 
tance it receives about twenty rivers, some of them 
of considerable width, and a great number of creeks. 
This evaporation seemed, in fact, to be greater now 
than when we ascended the river ; for we were 
obliged to replenish the inkstand every day with 
fresh ink, nine tenths of which must have escaped 
by evaporation. 

" September 9. By eight o'clock we passed the 
mouth of the Platte, which river was lower than 
when we saw it before, and its waters were almost 
clear, though its channel was turbulent, as usual. 
The sand-bars, however, which then obstructed the 
Missouri were now washed away, and nothing of 
them was to be seen except a few remains. Below the 
Platte the current of the Missouri became evidently 
more rapid, and the obstructions from fallen timber 
increased. The river bottoms aie here extensive, 
rich, and covered with tall, large timber, which is 
still more abundant in the hollows of the ravines, 
where may be seen oak, ash, and elm, interspersed 
with some wahiut and hickory. The moschetoes, 
though still numerous, seemed to have lost some of 
their vigour. As we advanced the diffierence of cli- 
mate was very perceptible, the air being more sul- 
try than we had experienced it for a long time be- 
fore, and the nights were so warm that a thin 



THEY MEET A BOAT FROM ST. LOUIS. 333 

blanket was now sufficient, although a few days be- 
fore two had been no more than comfortable. Late 
in the afternoon we encamped opposite to the Bald- 
pated Prairie, after having come a distance of sev- 
enty-three miles. 

" September 10. We again set out early, and the 
wind being moderate, though still ahead, we pro- 
ceeded sixty-five miles, to a sand-bar a short dis 
tance above the Grand Nemaha. In the course of 
the day we met a trader, with three men, on his way 
to the Pawnee Loups, or Wolf Pawnees, on the 
Platte. Soon after another boat passed us with 
seven men from St. Louis, bound to the Mahas. 
With both of these parties we had some conversa- 
tion, but our anxiety to go on would not suffer us 
to remain long with them. The Indians, particular- 
ly the squaws and children, had become weary with 
the length of the route, and we were impatient to 
reach our country and our friends. We saw on the 
shore deer, raccoons, and turkeys. 

" September 11. A high wind from the northwest 
detained us till after sunrise, when we started, but 
proceeded slowly, since, from the river being now 
rapid and narrow, as well as more crowded with 
sand-bars and timber than above, much caution was 
necessary in avoiding these obstacles, especially as 
the water was low. The Nemaha seemed less wide 
than when we saw it before, and Wolf River had 
scarcely any water. In the afternoon we halted 
above the Nadowa to hunt, and killed two deer, 
after which we went on to a small island forty miles 
from our last encampment. Here we were no 
longer annoyed by the moschetoes, which did not 
seem to frequent this part of the river ; and, after 
having been persecuted by these insects the whole 
distance from the Falls, it was a most agreeable re- 
lease. Their noise was very agreeably exchanged 
for that of the common wolves, which were howling 
<ii different directions, and of the prairie wolves. 



334 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 

whose barking resembles precisely that of a cui 
dog. 

" September 12. After a thick fog and a heavy dew, 
we set out by sunrise, and at the distance of seven 
miles passed two pirogues, one of them bound to the 
Platte for the purpose of trading with the Pawnees, 
the other on a trapping expedition to the neighbour- 
hood of the Mahas. Soon after we met the trading 
party under Mr. M'Clellan ; and with them was Mr. 
Gravelines, the interpreter whom we had sent with 
a Ricara chief to the United States. The chief had 
unfortunately died at Washington, and Gravelines 
was now on his way to the Ricaras with a speech 
from the president, and the presents which had beeit 
made to the deceased. He had also directions to in- 
struct the Ricaras in agriculture. He was accom- 
panied on his mission by old Mr. Durion, our former 
interpreter, for the purpose of employing his influ- 
ence to secure a safe passage for the Ricara presents 
through the country of the Sioux, and also to en- 
gage some of the Sioux chiefs, not exceeding six, to 
visit Washington. Both of them were instructed to 
inquire particularly after the fate of our party, no 
intelligence having been received from us for a long 
time. We authorized Mr. Durion to invite ten or 
twelve of the Sioux chiefs to accompany him, par- 
ticularly the Yanktons, whom we had found well 
disposed towards our country. The afternoon being 
wet, we determined to remain with Mr. M'Clellan 
during the night ; and sending five hunters ahead, 
spent the evening in inquiries respecting what had 
transpired in the United States since we left. 

" September 13. By eight o'clock in the morning 
we overtook the hunters, but they had killed nothing.* 
The wind being now too high to proceed safely 
through the timber that was stuck in every part of 
the channel, we landed and sent the small canoes 
ahead to hunt. Towards evening we overtook them, 
and encamped, having been able to advance only 



FEAR OF MEETING THE KANZAS. 335 

eighteen miles. The weather wa£5 very waim, and 
the rushes in the bottoms were so thick and high 
that we could scarcely hunt ; still, we were so fortu- 
nate as to obtain four deer and a turkey, which, with 
the hooting owl, and the common buzzard, crow, 
and hawk, were the only game we saw. Among 
the timber was the cottonwood, sycamore, ash, mul- 
berry, papaw, walnut, hickory, prickly ash, and sev- 
eral species of elm, interspersed with great quanti- 
ties of grape-vines, and three kinds of pea. 

"September 14. We resumed our journey, and 
this being the part of the river to which the Kanzas 
resort for the purpose of robbing the boats of the 
traders, we held ourselves in readiness to fire upon 
any Indians who should offer us the slightest indig- 
nity, as we no longer needed their friendship, and 
had found that a tone of firmness and decision was 
the best possible method of making a proper impres- 
sion upon these freebooters. We did not, however, 
encounter any of them, but just below the old Kan- 
zas village met three trading boats from 8t. Louis, 
on their way to the Yanktons and Mahas. After 
leaving them we saw a number of deer, of which 
we killed five, and landed on an island fifty-three 
miles from our last encampment. 

" September 15. A strong breeze ahead prevented 
us from proceeding more than forty-nine miles, to 
the neighbourhood of Hay Cabin Creek. The Kan- 
zas was very low at this time. About a mile be- 
yond it we landed to examine the situation of a high 
hill, which has many advantages for a trading house 
or fort ; while on the shore we gathered great quan- 
tities of papaw, and shot an elk. The low grounds 
were now delightful, and the whole country exhibit- 
ed a rich appearance ; but the weather was oppress- 
ively warm, and descending as rapidly as we did 
from a cool, open country, situated in the latitude of 
from 4G° to 49°, in which we had been for nearly 
two years, to the wooded plains in 38° and 39°, the 



336 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

heat would have been almost insufferable but foi 
the winds constantly blowing from the south and 
southeast. 

" September 16. We set out at an early hour, but 
the weather soon became so warm that the men 
rowed but little. In the course of the day we met 
two trading parties on their way to the Pawnees 
and Mahas, and after making fifty-two miles, landed 
on an island, and remained there till the next morn- 
ing. 

"September 17. We started early, and passed in 
safety the island of the Little Osage village. This 
place is considered by the navigators of the Missou- 
ri as the most dangerous part of it, the whole stream 
being compressed, for two miles, within a narrow 
channel crowded with timber, into which the violence 
of the current is constantly washing the banks. At 
the distance of thirty miles we met a Captain 
M'Clellan, lately of the United States army, with 
whom we encamped. He informed us that the gen- 
eral opinion in the United States was that we were 
lost, the latest accounts of us being from the Man- 
dan village. Captain M'Clellan was on his way to 
attempt to open a new trade with the Indians. His 
plan was to establish himself on the Platte, and after 
trading with the Pawnees and Ottoes, to prevail on 
some of their chiefs to accompany him to Santa Fe, 
where he hoped to obtain permission to exchange 
his merchandise for gold and silver, which were 
there abundant. If this should be granted, he would 
transport his goods on mules and horses from the 
Platte to some part of Louisiana, convenient to the 
Spanish settlements, where he would be met by the 
traders from New Mexico. 

" September 18. We parted with Captain M'Clel- 
lan, and within a few miles passed the mouth of 
Grand River, below which we overtook the hunters 
who had been sent forward the day before. They 
had not been able to kill anything, nor did we see 



THEY APPROACH ST. LOUIS. 337 

any game except -one bear and three turkeys, so 
that our whole stock of provisions was reduced to 
one biscuit for each person ; but as there was an 
abundance of papaw, the men were perfectly con- 
tented. The current of the river was more gentle 
than when we had ascended, the water being lower, 
though it was still rapid in places where it was con- 
fined. We continued to pass through a very fine 
country for fifty-two miles, when we encamped 
nearly opposite to Mine River. The next morning, 

" September 19, we worked our oars all day, with- 
out taking time to hunt, or even landing, except once 
to gather papaws ; and at eight o'clock reached the 
entrance of the Osage River, a distance of seventy- 
two miles. Several of the party had been for a day 
or two attacked with soreness of the eyes, the eye- 
ball being very much swelled, and the lid appearing 
as if burned by the sun, and being extremely painful, 
particularly when exposed to the light. Three of 
the men were so much aflfected by it as to be unable 
to row. We therefore turned one of the boats adrift, 
and distributing the men among the others, we set 
out a little before daybreak, 

" September 20. The Osage was at this time low, 
and discharged but a very small quantity of water. 
Near the mouth of the Gasconade, where we arrived 
at noon, we met five Frenchmen on their way to the 
Great Osage village. As we were rapidly moving 
along, we saw on the banks some cows feeding, 
when the whole party almost involuntarily raised a 
shout of joy on perceiving this image of civilization 
and domestic life. 

" Soon after, we reached the little French village 
of La Charette, which we saluted with a discharge 
of four guns, and three hearty cheers. We then 
landed, and were received with kindness by the in- 
habitants, as well as some traders from Canada, who 
were going to traffic with the Osages and Ottoes. 
They were all equally surprised and pleased at our 



338 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 

arrival, for they, had long since abandoned all hopes 
of ever seeing us again. 

"These Canadians have boats prepared for the 
navigation of the Missouri, which seem better cal- 
culated for the purpose than those of any other form. 
They are in the shape of bateaux, about thirty feet 
long and eight wide ; the bow and stern pointed, the 
bottom flat, and being propelled by six oars only : 
their chief advantage is their width and flatness, 
which saves thena from the danger of rolling sands. 

" Having come forty-eight miles, and the weather 
threatening to be bad, we remained at La Charette 
till the next morning, 

" September 21, when we proceeded, and as sev- 
eral new settlements had been made during our ab- 
sence, we were refreshed with the sight of men and 
cattle along the banks. We also passed twelve ca- 
noes of the Kickapoo Indians going on a hunting 
excursion. At length, after proceedini-^ forty-eight 
miles, we saluted with heartfelt satisfaction the vil- 
lage of St. Charles, and on landing were treated 
with the greatest hospitality and kindness by all the 
inhabitants of the place. Their civility detained us 
till ten o'clock the next morning, 

" September 22, when the rain having ceased, we 
set out for Coldwater Creek, about three miles from 
the mouth of the Missouri, where we found a can- 
tonment of United States troops, with whom we 
passed the day; and then, 

" September 23, descended to the Mississippi, and 
round to St. Louis, at which place we arrived at 
twelve o'clock ; and having fired a salute, went on 
shore, where we received a most hearty and hospi- 
table welcome from the whole village." 



APPENDIX. 



FARTHER ENUMERATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THK 
QUADRUPEDS-, BIRDS, FISHES, AND PLANTS NOTICED 
DURING THE EXPEDITION. 

The quadrupeds of the country extending from the 
Rocky Mountains to the Pacific may be conveniently di- 
vided into domestic and wild animals. The first class em- 
braces the horse and dog only. 

The horse is confined principally to the nations inhab- 
iting the great plains of the Columbia, lying between the 
fortieth and fiftieth degrees of north latitude, and extend- 
ing from the Rocky Mountains to a range of mountains 
which pass the Columliia near the Great Falls, between 
the one hundred and sixteenth and the one hundred and 
twenty-first degrees ol" west latitude. The Shoshonees, 
Chopunnish, Sokulks, Echeloots, Eneeshurs, and Chilluc- 
kittequaws, all enjoy the benefit of that docile, generous, 
and noble animal ; and all of them, except the last three, 
possess immense numbers. 

They appear to be of an excellent race ; are lofty, ele- 
gantly formed, active, and hardy ; and many of them ap- 
pear like fine English coursers. Some of them are pied, 
with large spots of w'lite irregularly distributed, and in- 
termixed with a dark-lirown bay : the greater part, how- 
ever, are of a uniform colour, marked with stars and white 
feet, and in fleetness and bottom, as well as in form and 
colour, resemble the best blooded horses of Virginia. The 
natives suffer them to run at large in the plains, the grass 
of which affords them their only subsistence, their mas- 
ters taking no trouble to lay in a winter's store for them ; 
and, if they are not overworked, they will even at this 
season fatten on the dry herbage. These plains are rare- 
ly moistened by rain, ano the grass is consequently short 
and thin The natives, excepting those of the Rocki/ 



340 APPENDIX. 

Mountains, appear to take no pains in selecting the male 
horses for breed, and, indeed, those oi' that class appear 
much the most indifferent. The soil and climate of ths 
country appear to be perfectly well adapted to the natuie 
of the animal, which is said to be found wild in many parts. 
The several tribes of Shoshonees, who reside towards 
Mexico, on the waters of the Multnomah River, and partic 
nlarly one of them, called Shaboboah, have also a greal 
number of mules, which they prize more highly than 
horses. * * * 

The dog is unusually small, about the size of an ordina- 
ry cur. He is usually parti-coloured, black, white, brown, 
and brindle being the colours most predominant : the head 
is long, the nose pointed, the eyes are small, and the ears 
erect and pointed, like those of the wolf The hair is 
short and smooth, excepting on the tail, where it is long 
and straight, like that of the ordinary cur-dog. The na- 
tives never eat the flesh of this animal, and he appears to 
be in no other way serviceable to them than in hunting 
the elk. 

The second division comprehends the brown, white, or 
grizzly bear, the black bear, the common red deer, the 
black-tailed fallow deer, the mule deer, the elk, the large 
brown wolf, the small wolf of the plains, the large wolf of 
the plains, the tiger-cat, the common red fox, the silver fox, 
the fisher or black fox, the large red fox of the plains, the 
kit-fox or small fox of the plains, the antelope, the sheep, 
the beaver, the common otter, the sea-otter, the mink, the 
seal, the raccoon, the large gray squirrel, the small gray 
squirrel, the small brown squirrel, the ground squirrel, the 
blaircau, the rat, the mouse, the mole, the panther, the 
hare, the rabbit, and the polecat or skunk. 

The brown, white, or grizzly bear, which seem all to be 
of the same family, with an accidental variation of colour 
only, inhabit the timbered parts of the Rocky Mountains. 
They are rarely found on the western side, and are more 
commonly below those mountains, in the plains, or on their 
borders, amid copses of brush and underwood, and near 
the water courses.* * * * 

The black bear differs in no i espect from those common 

♦ See Journal, i., 189, 195, 198, 200, 227, 240 ; ii., 225, 235, 261, 29a 



APPENDIX. 341 

to the United States. It chiefly inhabits the timbered 
parts of the Rocky Mountains and the borders of the great 
plains on the Columbia. * * * 

The common red deer inhabits the Rocky Mountains in 
the neighbourhood of the Chopunnish, also about the Co- 
lumbia, and down that river as low as where the tide-wa- 
ter commences. It does not appear to differ essentially 
from those of the United States, being the same in shape, 
size, and appearance. The tail, however, is of an unusual 
length, far exceeding that of the common deer : Captain 
Lewis measured one, and found it to be seventeen inches 
long. 

The black- tailed fallow deer is peculiar to the Pacific 
coast, and is a distinct species, partaking equally of the 
qualities of the mule and common deer. Its ears are long- 
er, and its winter coat is darker than that of the common 
deer. The receptacle of the eye is more conspicuous, its 
legs are shorter, and its body thicker and larger. The 
tail is of the same length with that of the common deer, 
the hair on the under part white, and on its sides and top 
of a deep jetty black : its hams, in form and colour, are 
like those of the mule deer, which it likewise resembles in 
its gait. The black-tailed deer never runs at full speed, 
but bounds with all its feet from the ground at the same 
time, like the mule deer. It sometimes inhabits the wood- 
lands, but more often the prairies and open grounds. It 
is generally of a size larger than the common deer, and 
less than the mule deer. * * * 

The mule deer inhabits the coast of the Pacific, the plains 
of the Missouri, and the borders of the Kooskooskee River, 
in the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains. * * * The 
qualities of this animal have been already noticed. 

The elk is of the same species as those found in the 
greater part of North America. It is common to every 
part of this country, as well the timbered lands as the 
plains, but is much more abundant in the former than in 
the latter.* * * * 

Of wolves, there are the large brown wolf and the wolf 
of the plains, of which last there are two kinds, the large 
and the small. The large brown wolf inhabits the woody 

* Journal, ii., 108. 



342 APPENDIX. 

countries on the borders of the Pacific, and the mountains 
on either side of the Columbia between the Great Falls 
and Rapids, and resembles in all points those of the United 
States.* 

The large and small wolves of the plains are principally 
found in the open country, and in the woodlands on its 
borders. They resemble, both in appearance and habits, 
those of the plains of the Missouri.! * * * 

The tiger-cat inhabits the borders of the plains and the 
woody regions in the neighbourhood of the Pacific. This 
animal is a size larger than the wild-cat of our country, 
and much the same in form, agility, and ferocity. The 
colour of the back, neck, and sides is a reddish brown, ir- 
regularly variegated with small spots of dark brown. The 
tail is about two inches long, and nearly white, except the 
extremity, which is black ; it terminates abruptly, as if it 
had been amputated. The belly is white, beautifully va- 
riegated with small black spots ; the legs are of the same 
colour with the sides ; the back is marked transversely 
with black stripes ; the ears are black on the outer side, 
covered with fine short hair except at the upper point, 
which is furnished with a pencil of hair, fine, straight, and 
black, and three fourths of an inch in length. The hair of 
this animal is longer and finer than that of the wild-cat of 
the United States ; and the skin of the animal is in great 
demand among the natives, as they form their robes of it. 

Of foxes we saw several species. The large red fox 
of the plains, and the kit- fox, or small red fox of the plains, 
are the same on the Columbia as those on the banks of the 
Missouri. They are found almost exclusively in the open 
plains, or on the tops of brush within the level country. * * * 

The black fox, or, as it is called in the neighbourhood of 
Detroit, the fisher, is found in the woody country border- 
ing on the coast of the Pacific. How it should have ac- 
quired this appellation it is difficult to imagine, as it cer- 
tainly does not live upon fish. These animals are exceed- 
ingly strong and active, and admirably expert in climbing, 
which they perform with the greatest ease,, and bound 
from tree to tree in pursuit of the squirrel or raccoon, their 
most Uisual prey. Their colour is of a jetty black, excej it- 

* Journal, i., 195. t Xiuma! 1 194. 



APPENDIX. 343 

mg a small white spot upon, the breast : the body is long, 
and the legs short, resembling those of the common turn- 
spit dog. The tail is remarkably long, and does not differ 
in other particulars from that of the ordinary fox. 

The silver fox is an animal very rare, even in the country 
it inhabits. We saw only the skins of this animal in the 
possession of the natives of the woody country below the 
Falls of the Columbia, which induced us to believe that it 
is confined to that country. From the skin, it appeared 
to be of about the size of the large red fox of the plains, 
resembling that animal in form, and particularly in the di- 
mensions of the tail. Its legs Captain Lewis conjectured 
to be somewhat larger. It has a long, deep, lead-coloured 
far, intermixed with long hairs, either of a black or white 
colour at the lower part, and invariably white at the top, 
forming a most beautiful silver gray. Captain Lewis 
thought this the most beautiful of the species, exceptmg 
one which he saw on the Missouri, near the Natural Falls. 

The antelope inhabits the great plains of the Columbia, 
and resembles those found on the banks of the Missouri, 
and, indeed, in every part of the untimbered country, but 
it is by no means as abundant on the west as on the east 
side of the Rocky Mountains. * * * 

The sheep is found in many places, but mostly in the 
timbered parts of the Rocky Mountains. It lives in great- 
er numbers on the chain of mountains forming the com- 
mencement of the woody country on the coast, and pass- 
ing the Columbia between the Falls and Rapids. We 
saw only the skins of this animal (which the natives 
dress with the wool on), and the blankets which they 
manufacture from the wool. The animal appears to be 
of about the size of our common sheep, and of a white 
colour ; the wool being fine on many parts of the body, 
but not equal in length to that of the domestic sheep. On 
the back, and particularly on the top of the head, the wool 
is intermixed with a considerable quantity of long straight 
hairs. From the Indian accounts, this animal has erect, 
pointed horns ; but one of our engages informed us that 
he had seen it in the Black Hills, and that its horns were 
lunated, like those of the common sheep.* * * * 

^_ _ » Journal, i., 146 ; ii., 179 

II. — D D 



344 APPENDIX 

The beaver of these countries is large and fat, its flesh 
very palatable, and we considered it quite a luxury. On 
the 7th of January, 1806, our hunter found a beaver in his 
traps, from which he prepared a bait for taking others. This 
bait will entice the animal as far as he can smell it, which 
may be fairly stated at a mile, as its sense of smell is 
very acute. To form this bait, the castor or bark-stone 
(so called from its having the smell of tanners' bark) is 
first gently pressed from the bladder-like bag which con- 
tains it into a vial of four ounces with a large mouth : five 
or six of these stones are thus taken, and there must be 
added to them a nutmeg, a dozen or fifteen cloves, and 
thirty grains of cinnamon, finely pulverized and stirred to- 
gether, with as much ardent spirits as will reduce the 
whole to the consistency of mustard. The bottle must be 
then carefully corked, as the compound soon loses its effi- 
cacy if exposed to the open air. The scent becomes much 
stronger in four or five days, and, provided proper precau 
tion is taken, the compound will retain its virtue for months 
Any strong aromatic spices will answer, as their only ob. 
ject is to give variety and pungency to the scent of the 
bark-stone. * * * The female beaver has young once in 
a year only, sometimes two and sometimes four at a birth, 
and this is usually in the latter end of May and the begin- 
ning of June, at which time she is said to drive the mal* 
fi-om the lodge, as he would otherwise destroy her proge 
nv- * * * 

The common otter does not differ from those inh:jbitin^ 
other parts of America. 

The sea-otter resides only on the seacoast or in thv 
neighbourhood of salt-water. When fully grown it at 
tains the size of a large mastiff dog. The ears are lot ar 
inch in length, thick, pointed, fleshy, and covered witl shor* 
nair. The tail is about ten inches long, thick at the poin< 
of insertion, and partially covered with a deep fur on thf 
upper side. The legs are very short, and covered wiih fur 
and the feet, which have five toes each, are broad, large 
and webbed, and covered with short hair. The body ol 
the animal is long, and of the same thickness throug lout • 
and from the extremity of the tail to the nose measure/ 
about five feet. The colour is a uniform dark brown and 
when the animal is in good order and in season, it ia pei 



APPENDIX. 345 

fectly black. This animal is unrivalled for the beauty, 
richness, and softness of its fur, the inner part of it, when 
opened, being lighter than the surface in its natural posi- 
tion ; and there are some black, shining hairs intermixed 
with it which are rather longer, and add much to its beau- 
ty. The fur in some of this species presents a lighter col- 
our, sometimes brown, about the ears, nose, and eyes. 
Their young are often seen of a cream-coloured white 
about the nose, eyes, and forehead, which are always much 
lighter than the other parts, and the fur of these is much 
inferior to that of the full-grown animal. 

The mink inhabits the woody country bordering on the 
seacoast, and does not differ in any point from those of the 
United States. 

The seal is found on the coast of the Pacific in great 
numbers, and as far up the Columbia as the Great Falls, 
none having been discovered beyond them. * * * 

The raccoon inhabits the woody districts bordering on 
the coast in considerable numbers, and is caught by the 
natives with snares or pitfalls ; but they hold its skin in 
little or no estimation, and very seldom make it into robes. 

Of squirrels we saw several species. 

The large gray squirrel appears to inhabit a narrow tract 
of country, well covered with white-oak timber, situated 
on the upper side of the mountains, just below the Falls ot 
the Columbia ; nor is it found except in tracts where 
there is this kind of timber, never appearing in districts 
where piMe is most abundant. This animal is much su- 
perior in size to the common gray squirrel, resembling in 
form, colour, and size the fox-squirrel of the Atlantic 
States. The tail exceeds the whole length of the body 
and head : the eyes are dark ; the whiskers long and black ; 
the back, sides of the head and tail, and outward part of 
the legs, are all of a blue-coloured gray ; and the breast, 
belly, and inner part of the body are of a pure white. The 
hair is short, like that of the fox-squirrel, though much 
finer, and intermixed with a portion of fur. The natives 
hold the skin of this animal in high estimation, and use it 
in making their robes. It subsists on acorns and filbeits, 
the last growing in great abundance in the oak country. 

The small gray squirrel is common to every part of the 
Rocky Mountains where timber abounds. It differs from 



346 APPENDIX. 

the dark brown squirrel in colour only. The back, sides, 
neck, head, tail, and outer part of the legs are of a brown- 
ish lead-coloured gray ; the tail is slightly tinged with a 
dark reddish colour near the extremity of some of the 
hairs ; the throat, breast, belly, and inner part of the legs 
are of the colour of tanners' ooze, and there is a narrow 
strip of black, commencing behind each shoulder, and en- 
tering longitudinally for about three inches, between the 
colours of the sides and belly. Its habits are precisely 
those of the dark brown squirrel, and, like the latter, it is 
extremely nimble and active. 

There is another species of squirrel, evidently distinct, 
which we denominated the burrowing squirrel. It in- 
habits the plains of the Columbia, and somewhat resem- 
bles those found on the Missouri. Its length is about one 
foot five inches, of which the tail makes two and a half 
inches only: the neck and legs are short, as are also 
the ears, which are obtusely pointed, and lie close to the 
head, the aperture being larger than is generally found 
among burrowing animals. The eyes are of a moderate 
size, the pupil being black, and the iris of a dark sooty 
brown : the whiskers are full, long, and black ; the teeth, 
and, indeed, the whole contour of the animal, resemble 
those of the squirrel. Each foot has five toes, the two 
inner ones of the fore feet being remarkably short, and 
armed with blunt nails, while the remaining toes on these 
feet are long, black, slightly curved, and sharply pointed. 
The hair of the tail is thick on the sides only, which gives 
it a flat appearance, and a long, oval form ; the tips of the 
hair forming the outer edges of the tail being white, the 
other extremity of a fox red ; the under part of the tail 
being of an iron-gray colour, and the upper part of a red- 
dish brown. The lower part of the jaws, and the under 
part of the neck, legs, and feet, from the body and belly 
downward, are of a light brick red ; the nose and eyes of 
a darker shade of the same colour ; and the upper part of 
the head, neck and body, of a curious brown gray, with a 
slight tinge of brick red : the longer hairs of these parts 
are of a reddish white colour at their extremities, and fall- 
ing together, give the animal a speckled appearance. These 
animals west of the mountains, like those on the Missouri, 
form large communities, occupying sometinies with their 



APPENDIX. 347 

trtirrows two hundred acres of land : these burrows are 
Reparate, and each contains, perhaps, ten or twelve inhab- 
itants. There is a little mound in front of the hole, form- 
ed of the earth thrown out of the burrow, and frequently 
there are three or four of these holes, forming one burrow, 
around the base of the little mounds. Some of these 
mounds, which are about two feet in height and four in 
diameter, are occupied as watch-towers by the inhabitants. 
The animals, one or more, are irregularly distributed over 
the tract thus occupied, at the distance of from ten to forty 
yards ; and when any one approaches, they set up a shrill 
whisthng sound, somewhat resembling iwect, tweet, tweet, 
which is the signal for their companions to take the alarm, 
and retreat within their intrenchments. They feed on the 
■roots of grass, &c. 

The small brown squirrel is a beautiful little animal, about 
ihe size and form of the red squirrel of the eastern Atlan- 
tic States and along the western lakes. The taU is as 
long as the body and neck, and in shape like that of the 
red squirrel. The eyes are black, the whiskers long and 
black, but not abundant ; the back, sides, head, neck, and 
outer part of the legs are of a reddish brown ; the throat, 
bieast, belly, and inner part of the legs of a pale red ; the 
tail is of a mixture of black and fox-coloured red, in which 
the black predominates in the middle, and the other on the 
edges and extremity. The hair of the body is about an 
inch and a half long, and so fine and soft that it has the 
appearance of fur ; that of the tail is coarser, and double 
the length. This animal feeds chiefly on the seeds of dif- 
ferent species of pine, and is always found in the pine 
country. 

The ground squirrel we found in every part of the coun- 
try, and it differs in no respect from those of the United 
States. 

There is still another species, called by Captain Lewis 
the barking squirrel, found in the plains of the Missouri. 
This animal commonly weighs about three pounds : its 
colour is a uniform bright brick red and gray, the former 
predominating ; and the under side of the neck and belly 
are lighter than the other parts of the body. The legs are 
short, and the breast and shoulders wide ; the head is 
stout and muscular, terminates more bluntly, and is wider 



348 APPENDIX. 

and flatter than that of the common squirrel ; the ears are 
short, and appear as though they had been cropped ; the 
jaw is furnished with a pouch to contain his food, but it is 
not so large as that of the common squirrel ; the nose is 
armed with whiskers on each side, and a few long hairs 
are inserted on each jaw and directly over the eyes; the 
eye is small and black ; and each foot has five toes, the 
two outer ones being much shorter than those in the 
centre. The two inner toes of the fore feet are long and 
sharp, and well adapted to digging and scratching. From 
the extremity of the nose to the end of the tail, this animal 
measures about one foot five inches, of which the tail 
makes four inches. Notwithstanding the clumsiness of 
its form, it is remarkably active, and digs in the ground 
with great rapidity. These animals reside in little subter- 
raneous villages like the burrowing squirrel ; and although 
six or eight usually live together, they have but one e.i 
trance to their domicil. Their holes are of great deptL, 
and Captain Lewis once followed one to the depth of ten 
feet without reaching its termination : they will occupy 
in this manner several hundred acres of ground. When 
they are at rest their position is generally erect on their 
hinder feet and rump ; and they sit in this way seemingly 
with much confidence, barking at any intruder that may 
approach with a fretful and harmless intrepidity. The 
noise they make resembles that of the little pet-dog, the 
yelps being in quick and angry succession, attended by 
rapid and convulsive motions, as if they were determinow 
to sally forth in defence of their freehold. They feed on 
the grass of their village, beyond the limits of which they 
never venture to pass. As soon as the frost commences 
they shut themselves up in their holes, and continue there 
till the spring opens. The flesh of this animal is not un- 
pleasant. 

Sewellel is the name given by the natives to a small ani 
mal found in the timbered country on the Pacific coast, 
though it is most abundant in the neighbourhood of the 
Great Falls and Rapids of the Columbia. 

The natives make great use of the skins of this animd 
for robes, dressing them with the fur on, and sewing them 
together with the sinews of the elk or deer. AVhen dress- 
ed, the skin is from fourteen to eighteen inches long, and 



APPENDIX. 349 

from seven to nine in width ; and the natives always sep- 
arate the tail from it when they make it into robes. This 
animal climbs trees and burrows in the ground precisely 
like a squirrel. Its ears are short, thin, and pointed, and 
covered with a fine short hair of a uniform reddish brown : 
the bottom or base of the long hairs, which exceed the fur 
but httle in length, as well as the fur itself, are of a dark 
colour next to the skin for two thirds of the length of the 
animal ; the fur and hair are very fine, short, thick-set, and 
silky ; the ends of both being of a reddish brown, that col- 
our predominating generally in the appearance of the ani- 
mal. Although Captain Lewis offered a considerable re- 
ward to the Indians for one of these animals, he could 
never procure one alive. 

The blaircau, so called by the French engages, appears 
to be of the civet species, and much resembles the common 
badger. These animals inhabit the open plains of the Co- 
lumbia, in some places those of the Missouri, and are oc- 
casionally found in the woods : they burrow in hard ground 
with surprising ease and dexterity, and will cover them- 
selves in a very few moments. They have five long nails 
on each foot ; those on the fore feet being much the long- 
est, and one on each hind foot being double, as with the 
beaver. They weigh from fourteen to eighteen pounds. 
The body is long in proportion to its thickness ; the fore 
legs are remarkably large and muscular, formed jike those 
of the turnspit dog, and, as well as the hind legs, are short. 
They are broad across the shoulders and breast ; the neck 
is short, the mouth wide, and furnished with sharp, straight 
teeth both above and below, with four sharp, straight, point- 
ed tusks, two in the upper and two in the lower jaw. The 
eyes are black and small ; the whiskers placed in four 
points on each side near the nose, and on the jaws near 
the opening of the mouth ; the ears short and wide, ap- 
pearing as if a part had been cut off. The tail is about 
lour inches in length, the hair on it being longest at the 
point of its junction with the body, and growing shorter 
till it ends in an acute point. The hair on the body is much 
longer on the sides and rump than on any other part, 
which gives to the animal an apparent flatness, particular- 
ly when it rests upon its beUy. The hair is upward of 



350 APPENDIX. 

three inches in length, being longest on the rump, where 
it extends so far towards the point of the tail that it con- 
ceals the shape of the hinder part of the body, giving to it 
the appearance of a right-angled triangle, the point of 
the tail forming an acute angle : the small quantity of 
coarse fur intermixed with the hair is of a reddish pale 
yellow. 

The rat inhabiting the Rocky Mountains, like those on 
the borders of the Missouri in the neighbourhood of the 
mountains, is distinguished by having a tail covered with 
hair like the other parts of the body. * * * The ordinary 
house rat we found on the banks of the Missouri as far up 
as the woody country extends ; and the rat first mention- 
ed Captain Lewis found in Georgia, and also in Madison's 
Cave in Virginia.* 

The mice which we saw are precisely the same with 
th<;se in the United States ; nor does the mole differ in 
any respect from the species so common there. 

The panther is found in the great plains on the Colum- 
bia, on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, and on 
the coast of the Pacific. It is the same animal so well 
known on the Atlantic coast, and which is most commonly 
found on the frontiers or in the unsettled parts of the coun- 
try. * * * 

The hare west of the Rocky Mountains inhabits the 
great plains of the Columbia ; and to the east of those 
mountains, the plains on the Missouri. It weighs from 
seven to eleven pounds. The eye is large and prominent, 
the pupil being of a deep sea-green, and occupying one 
third of its diameter ; and the iris is of a bright yellowish 
and silver colour. The ears are placed far back, very near 
each other, and the animal can dilate and throw them for- 
ward, or contract or lay them upon its back, with surpri- 
sing ease and quickness. The head, neck, back, shoul- 
ders, thighs, and outer part of the legs are of a lead colour ; 
the sides, as they approach the belly, become gradually 
more white ; the belly, breast, and inner part of the legs 
and thighs are white, with a light shade of lead colour ; 
the tail is round and bluntly pointed, covered with white, 
Eoft, fine fur, not quite so long as on the other parts of the 

* See Journal, i., 244. 



APPENDIX. 



351 



body ■ and the body is covered with a deep, fine, soft, close 
fur The colours here described are those which the ani- 
mal assumes from the middle of April to the middle of No- 
vember being the rest of the year of a pure white, except 
the black and reddish brown of the ears, which never 
change A few reddish brown spots are sometimes inter- 
mixed with the white, in February, on the head and the 
upper part of the neck and shoulders. The body of the 
animal is smaller and longer in proportion to its height 
than that of the rabbit. When it runs, it can-ies its tail 
strai«^ht behind : it bounds with surprising agdity ; is ex- 
tremely fleet, and never burrows or takes shelter in the 
ground when pursued. Its teeth are like those of the rab- 
bit, as is also its upper lip, which is divided as high as the 
nose Its food is grass and herbs, and in winter it feeds 
much on the bark of several aromatic herbs growing on 
the plains. Captain Lewis measured the leaps of this an- 
imal, and found them generally from eighteen to twenty- 
one feet : thev are generally found separate, and are neve; 
seen to associate in greater numbers than two or three. 

The rabbit here is the same as those of our own coun- 
try, and it is found both on the prairies and woodlands, 
but is not very abundant. 

The polecat is also found in every part of this country. 
It is very abundant in some parts on the Columbia, par- 
ticularly in the neighbourhood of the Great Falls and Nar- 
rows of that river, where it lives in the cliffs, and feeds 
on the offal of the Indian fishing establishments. It is 
of the same species as those found in other parts of North 

America. , -r, i ht * 

Of the birds which we saw between the Rocky Mount- 
ains and the Pacific, we will first mention the grouse or 
prairie-hen. This bird frequents the great plains of the 
Columbia, and does not diflfer from those of the upper por- 
tion of the Missouri. Its tail is pointed, the feathers m 
the centre being much longer than those on the sides. 
This species differs essentially in the formation of its plu- 
mage from those of the Illinois, the tails of the latter be- 
in*^ composed of feathers of an equal length. In the win- 
ter season it is booted to the first joint of the toes, which 
are curiously bordered on their lower edges with narrow, 
hard scales, placed very close to each other, and extend- 



352 APPENDIX. 

ing horizontally about an eighth of an inch on each side, 
adding much to the broadness of the feet : a provision 
which bounteous Nature has furnished them for passing 
with more ease over the snows ; and, what is very remark- 
able, in the summer season these scales drop off. This 
bird has four toes on each foot, and its colour is a mixture 
of dark brown, reddish and yellowish brown, and white, 
confusedly blended. In this assemblage of colours, the 
reddish brown predominates on the upper parts of the body, 
wings, and tail, and the white on the belly, and the lower 
parts of the breast and tail. These birds associate in large 
flocks in autumn and winter, and even in summer are seen 
in companies of five or six. They feed on grass, insects, 
the leaves of various shrubs in the plains, and on the seeds 
of several species of speth and wild rye, which grow in 
the richer soils. In winter their food consists of the buds 
of the willow and cotton wood, and different berries. 

The cock of the plains is found in great abundance from 
the mouth of the southeast fork of the Columbia to that 
of Clarke's River. Its size is about two and three quarter 
inches less than that of our ordinary turkey. The beak is 
large, short, curved and convex, the upper chap exceed- 
ing the lower : the nostrils are large, the back is black, 
and the colour of the rest of the body of a uniform mix- 
ture of dark brown, and a reddish and yellowish brown, 
with some small black specks. In this mixture the dark 
brown predominates, and has a slight cast of the dove- 
colour : the wider side of the large feathers of the wings 
are dark brown, without any other shade. The tail is 
composed of nineteen feathers, that in the centre being 
th'3 Imgest, and the other nine on each side of it grad- 
ually diminishing. When folded, the tail comes to a 
very sharp point, and appears long compared with the 
body. In the act of flying, the tail appears like that of 
the wild pigeon, but the motion of the wings closely re- 
sembles that of the pheasant and grouse. This bird 
has four toes on each foot, of which the hindmost is the 
shortest, and the leg is covered with feathers about half 
way from the joint to the foot. When its wings are ex- 
panded there are wide openings between the feathers, the 
plumage being too narrow to fill up the space ; and the 
wings are short compared with those of the grouse o 



APPENDIX. 353 

pheasant. The habits of the bird resemble those of the 
grouse, excepting that it feeds on the leaf and buds of the 
pulpy-leafed thorn. Captain Lewis did not remember to 
have seen it but in the neighbourhood of a shrub which 
they also sometimes feed on, the prickly pear. The giz- 
zard is large, much less compressed and muscular than in 
most birds, and perfectly resembles a craw. WTien the 
bird flies it utters a cackling sound, not unhke that of the 
dunghill fowl. Its flesh is dark, and only tolerable in point 
of flavour, being less palatable than that of the pheasant 
or grouse. The feathers about the head are pointed, stiff, 
and short, and fine and stiff about the ears ; at the base 
of the beak there are several hairs. This bird is invaria 
bly found in the plains. 

Of pheasants we observed the large black and white 
pheasant, the small speckled pheasant, and the small brown 
pheasant. 

The large black and white pheasant differs but little 
from that of the United States, the brown being rather 
brighter, with a more reddish tint. This bird has eighteen 
feathers in the tail, about six inches in length. He is boot- 
ed to the toes, and the two tufts of long black feathers on 
each side of the neck are no less observable than in the 
male of this species inhabiting the United States. The 
feathers on the body are of a dark brown, tipped with white 
and black, the black predominating, while the white are ir- 
regularly intermixed with the black and dark brown in 
every part, though in greater proportion about the neck, 
breast, and belly ; and this mixture makes the bird resem- 
ble that kind of dunghill fowl which the housewives of our 
country call Domminicker. On the breast of some the 
white predominates. The tufl;s on the neck leave a space 
about two and a half inches long and one wide, where no 
feathers grow, though it is concealed by the plumage on 
the higher and under parts of the neck ; this space ena- 
bles them to contract or dilate the feathers on the neck 
with more ease. The eye is dark, the beak black, curved, 
and somewhat pointed, the upper chap exceeding the un- 
der one ; and a narrow vermillion stripe runs along above 
each eye, not protuberant, but uneven, with a number of 
minute rounded dots. The bird feeds on wild fruits, par- 
ticularly the berry of the sacacommis, and inhabits exclu 



354 APPENDIX. 

eively the poition of the Rocky Mountains watered by the 
Columbia. 

The small speckled pheasant is found in the same dis- 
trict as the foregoing, and differs from it only in size and 
colour. It is but half the size of the black and white 
pheasant, associates in much larger flocks, and is very 
gentle ; the black in its colour is more predominant, and 
the dark brown feathers are less frequent ; the mixture of 
white is also more general on every part. This bird is 
smaller than our pheasant, and the body more round ; the 
flesh both of this and the last-named species is dark, and, 
with our means of cooking, was not well flavoured. 

The small brown pheasant inhabits tlie same country, 
and is of the same size and shape as the speckled pheas- 
ant, which he resembles also in his habits. The stripe 
above the eye in this species is scarcely perceptible, and is 
found, when closely examined, to be of a yellow or orange 
colour instead of vermillion, as in the other species. The 
colour of the bird is a uniform mixture of dark yellowish 
brown, with a slight sprinkling of brownish white on the 
breast and belly, and under the tail ; and in its whole ap- 
pearance it much resembles the common quail. It is 
booted to the toes, and its flesh is preferable to that of the 
two preceding. 

The buzzard is, we beheve, the largest bird of North 
America. One taken by our hunters, and not in good con- 
dition, weighed twenty-five pounds. Between the extrem- 
ities of the wings he measured nine feet two inches ; from 
the extremity of the beak to the toe, three feet nine and a 
half inches ; and from the hip to the toe, two feet. The 
circumference of the head was nine and three quarter inch- 
es ; that of the neck, seven and a half inches ; and that of 
the body, two feet three inches. The diameter of the eye 
was four and a half tenths of an inch ; the iris is of a pale 
scarlet red, and the pupil of a deep sea-green. The head 
and part of the neck are without feathers ; the tail is com- 
posed of twelve feathers of equal length, each being about 
fourteen inches ; the thigh is covered with feathers as low 
as the knee, and the legs are naked, and not entirely 
smooth. The toes are four in number, three forward, and 
that in the centre much the largest ; the fourth is short, 
Uiserted near the inner part of the three others, and rather 



APPENDIX. 355 

projecting forward ; the top or upper part of the toes is im- 
bricated with broad scales lying transversely, and the nails 
are black, short, and bluntly pointed. The under side of 
the wing is covered with white down and feathers ; a 
white stripe of about two inches in width marks the outer 
part of the wing, embracing the lower points of the plu- 
mage, and covering the joint ; and the remainder is of a 
deep black. The skin of the beak and head to the joining 
of the neck is of a pale orange colour, and the other part 
destitute of plumage is of a light flesh colour. It is not 
known that this bird preys upon living animals : we have 
seen him feeding on the remains of the whale and other 
fish thrown upon the coast. He was not seen by any of 
the party until we had descended below the Great Falls of 
the Columbia, and he is believed to be of the vulture 
genus, although he lacks some of the characteristics, par- 
ticularly the hair on the neck and the plumage on the 
legs. 

The robin is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains. 
The beak of this bird is smooth, black, and convex ; the 
upper chap exceeds the other in length, and a few small 
black hairs garnish the sides of its base. The eye is of a 
uniform deep sea-green colour ; the legs, feet, and talons 
are white, the longest claw, including the talon, being of 
the same length as the leg : these are slightly imbricated, 
curved, and sharply pointed. The crown, from the beak, 
back to the neck, embracing more than half the circum- 
ference of the neck, and the back and tail, are all of a blu- 
ish dark brown ; the two outer feathers of the tail being 
dashed with white near their tips, though imperceptible when 
the tail is folded. A fine black forms the ground of the 
wings ; two stripes of the same colour pass on either side 
of the head, from the base of the beak to the upper edge of 
the eye ; and a third stripe of the same extends from the 
sides of the neck to the tips of the wings, across the crop, 
in the form of a gorget. The throat, neck, breast, and 
belly are of a fine brick red, tinged with yellow, a narrow 
stripe of which colour commences just above the centre 
of each eye, extending backward to the neck till it comes 
in contact with the black stripe before mentioned, to 
which it answers as a border. The first and second 
ranges of feather* covering the joint of the wing n-ext ta 



356 APPENDIX. 

the body are beautifully tipped with brick red, as is also 
each large feather of the wing on the short side of its plu- 
mage. This beautiful little bird feeds on berries. It in- 
habits exclusively the woody country : we never heard its 
note, which might be owing to the coldness of the season. 

The crow and raven are exactly the same in appearance 
and note as those on the Atlantic, except that they are 
much smaller on the Columbia. 

Neither do the hawks of the Pacific coast differ from 
those of the United States. * * * With the crows and ra- 
vens, they are common to every part of the country, their 
nests being found in the high cliffs along the whole course 
of the Columbia and its southeastern branches. 

The large blackbird is the same as those of our coun- 
try, and is found everywhere west of the mountains. 

The large hooting owl we saw only on the Kooskooskee, 
near the Rocky Mountains. It is the same in form and 
size as the owl of the United States, though its colours, 
particularly the reddish brown, appear deeper and brighter. 

The turtle-dove and the robin (except the Columbian 
robin already described) do not differ from those of the 
United States, and are found both in the plains and in the 
common broken country. 

The magpie most generally inhabits the open country, 
and resembles those of the Missouri. 

The large woodpecker or laycock, the lark woodpecker 
and the common small white woodpecker with a red head 
are found only in the timbered lands, and differ in no re 
spect from birds of the same species in the United States. 

The lark, which frequents the plains only, and is nol 
unlike what is called in Virginia the old-field lark, is tht 
same with those seen on the Missouri. 

The fly-catcher is of two species. 

The body of the first is small, of a reddish brown col- 
our, with some fine black specks ; the tail and neck are 
short, and the beak is pointed. This is of the same spe- 
cies as that which remains all the winter in Virginia, 
where it is sometimes called the wren. It is the smallest 
bird we saw except the humming-bird. 

The back, head, neck, wing, and tail of the second spe- 
cies are of a yellowish brown ; the breast and belly yel- 
lowish white. The tail is short like th*t of the wren, but 



APPENDIX. 



357 



the bird itself is a size smaller than the wren : the beak is 
straight, pointed, convex, rather large at the base, and the 
chaps are of equal length. Both these species are found 
exclusively in the woody country. 

The blue-crestca and the smai: white-crested corvus are 
confined to the pine country, as weU on the Rocky Mount- 
airs as along the Pacific coast. 

The snipe of the marshes and the common sand-snipe, 
the bat, and the white woodpecker, are of the same species 
as those in the United States.* * * 

The black woodpecker is found in most parts ot the 
Rocky Mountaihs, and in the western and southwestern 
mountains. It is about the size of the lark woodpecker 
or turtle-dove, though his wings are longer than those of 
either of these. The beak is an inch m length, black, 
curved at the base, and sharply pointed, with the chaps of 
equal length ; and around its base, includmg the eye and 
a small part of the throat, there is a fine crimson red. 
The neck, as low down as the crop in front, is of an iron 
eray ; the belly and breast present a curious mixture of 
white and blood-red, which has much the appearance of 
paint, the red predominating ; the top of the head, the 
back and sides, and the upper surface of the wings and 
tail, appear of a glossy green in a certam exposure to the 
light, and the under side of the wings and tail is of a sooty 
black The tail has ten feathers, sharply pointed, tnose in 
the centre being the longest, or about two and a half inch- 
es in len<^th. The tongue is barbed and pointed, and of an 
elastic, cartilaginous substance; the eye is rather large, 
the pupil black, and the iris of a dark yellowish brown. 
The movements of this bird when flying, and also its notes, 
resemble those of the small red-headed woodpecker com- 
mon in the United States. The pointed tail renders it es- 
sential service in retaining its resting position against the 
perpendicular sides of trees. The legs and feet are black, 
Snd covered with wide imbricated scales ; and it has lour 
toes on each foot, two extending back and two forward, 
the nails of which are much curved, pointed, and very 
Bhi.rr. It feeds on bugs and other insects. 

The calumet eagle is sometimes found on the western 
side of the Rocky Mountains, as Captain Lewis was in- 
formed by the natives, in whose possession he saw then 



358 APPENDIX. 

plumage. They are of the same species v,o those on tl»^ 
Missouri, and are the most beautiful of all the eagles in 
America. The colours are black and white, richly varie- 
gated. The tail feathers (so highly prized by the Indians) 
are twelve in number, of unequal length, and white to 
within two inches of their extremities, where they sudden- 
ly change to a jetty black. The wings have a large circu- 
lar white spot in the middle, which is only visible when 
they are extended ; and the body is variously marked with 
black and white. In form they resemble the bald eagle, 
but are rather smaller, and fly with much greater rapidity. 
This bird is feared by all his carnivorous competitors, 
which, on his approach, instantly abandon the carcass on 
which they had been feeding. The female breeds in the 
most inaccessible parts of the mountains, where she makes 
her summer residence, and descends to the plains only in 
the fall and winter seasons. The natives are constantly 
on the watch for them at these seasons, and so highly is 
their plumage prized by the Mandans, the Minnetarees, and 
the Ricaras, that for the tail feathers of two of these birds 
they will give a good horse or gun ; and among the Great 
and Little Osages, and the nations inhabiting countries 
where the bird is more rarely seen, the price is even double 
this. With these feathers the Indians decorate the stems 
of their sacred pipes or calumets, whence the name of cal- 
umet given to the bir.d is derived. The Ricaras often do- 
mesticate this bird for the purpose of obtaining its plumage. 
The natives also fasten these feathers in their hair, deco- 
rate their war caps or bonnets with them, and attach them 
to the manes and tails of their favourite horses. 

As we were near the coast only during the winter, many 
of the aquatic birds may have retired from the cold, and 
been lost to our observation. We saw, however, the large 
blue and brown heron ; the fish-hawk ; the blue-crested 
fisher ; several species of gulls ; the cormorant ; two spe- 
cies of loons ; brant of two kinds ; geese ; swan, and sev- 
eral species of ducks. 

The large blue and brown herons, or cranes, as they 
are usually termed, are found on the Columbia below tide- 
water, and differ in no respect from the same species in 
the United States. The same remark will apply to the 
fish-hawk and the blue-crested or king fisher, both of which 



APPENDIX. 359 

are found everywhere on the Columbia and its tributary 
waters. 

Of gulls we noticed four species on the coast and river, 
all common to the United States. 

The cormorant is, properly speaking, a large black duck 
that feeds on fish ; and Captain Lewis could perceive na 
difference between this bird there and those frequenting 
the Potomac and other rivers on the Atlantic coast. 

Of loon there were two species, the first, or speckled 
loon, being found on all the rivers west of the mountains, 
and of the same size, colour, and form as those of the At- 
lantic coast. 

The second species we saw at the Falls of Columbia, 
and from thence downward to the ocean. This bird is not 
more than half the size of the other : its neck is long, slen- 
der, and white ; the plumage on the body, and on the top 
of the head and neck, is of a dun or ash colour ; the 
breast and belly are white ; the beak is like that of the 
speckled loon ; and, like it, it cannot fly, but flutters along 
on the surface of the water, or dives when pursued. 

The brant are of three kinds : the white, the brown, and 
the pied. 

The white brant are very common on the shores of the 
Pacific, where they remain in vast numbers during the 
winter ; and, like the swan-geese, feed on the grass, roots, 
and seeds which grow in the marshes.* * * * 

The brown brant are nearly of the same colour, size, 
and form as the white, only that their wings are consider- 
ably longer and more pointed. The plumage on the upper 
part of the body, neck, head, and tail resembles in colour 
that of the Canadian goose, though somewhat darker, from 
some dark feathers being irregularly scattered throughout ; 
neither have they the same white on the neck and sides 
of the head as the goose, nor is the neck darker than the 
body ; though, like the goose, they have some white 
feathers on the rump at the insertion of thf tail. The 
beak is dark, as are also the legs and feet, with a greenish 
cast ; the breast and belly are of a lighter colour than the 
back, and are also irregularly spotted with dark brown and 
black feathers, which give it a pied appearance ; the flesh 

* For description. Bee Journal, i., 194, 
II.— E E 



360 APPENDIX. 

is darker and better than that of the goose. *• * * There 
is no difference between this bird and the brant so common 
on the lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. 

The pied brant weighs about eight and a half pounds, 
differing from the ordinary pied brant in its wings, which 
are neither so long nor so pointed. * * * Its note is also 
much like that of the common pied brant, from which, in 
fact, it is not to be distinguished at a distance, although it 
is certainly of a distinct species. * * * 

Of geese there are two kinds, the large and small. The 
large goose is like our ordinary wild or Canadian goose : 
the small is rather less than the brant, which it resembles 
in the head and neck, which are larger in proportion than 
those of the goose ; the beak is likewise thicker and short- 
er, and its note is similar to that of the tame goose. In 
all other points it resembles the larger kind, with which it 
so frequently associates that it was some time before we 
discovered it to be a distinct species.* 

There are also two kinds of swan, the large and the 
small. The large swan is the same as that in the Atlantic 
States : the small differs from it only in size and in note, 
it being about one fourth less, and its note entirely differ- 
ent. The note, which is as loud as that of the large spe- 
cies, begins with a kind of whistling sound, terminating in 
a round, full tone, loudest at the end, whence it might be 
denominated the whistling-swan. Its habits, colour, and 
contour appear to be precisely like those of the larger 
kind. This bird was first found below the Great Narrows 
of the Columbia, near the Chilluckittequaw nation : they 
were very abundant about the coast, and remained there 
all the winter, being five times as numerous as those of 
the large species. 

Of ducks there are many kinds : the duckinmallard, the 
canvass-back duck, the red-headed fishing duck, the black 
and white duck, the little brown duck, the black duck, two 
species of divers, and the blue- winged teal. 

The duckinmallard, or common large duck, resembles 
the domestic duck, is very abundant, and found on every 
part of the Columbia below the mountains. * * * 

The canvass-back duck is a mpst beautiful bird, and, ai 

* Journpl, i., 194. 



APPENDIX. 361 

18 well known, very delicious to the palate. It is found in 
considerable numbers at the mouth of the Columbia. It 
is of the same species as those in the Delaware, Susque- 
hannah, and Potomac, and of equally fine flavour. * * * 

The red-headed fishing-duck is common to every part of 
the river, and was the only duck we saw on the waters of 
the Columbia within the Rocky Mountains. It is the same 
in every respect as those on the Atlantic coast. 

The black and white duck is small, and of a size larger 
than the teal. The male is beautifully variegated with 
black and white ; the white occupying the breast and back, 
the tail, the feathers of the wings, and two tufts of feath- 
ers which cover the upper part of the wings when folded, 
and likewise the neck and head : the female is the largest. 
This is believed to be of the same species as the duck 
common on the Atlantic coast, called the butter-box. The 
beak is wide and short, and, as well as the legs, of a dark 
colour : its flesh is extremely well flavoured. * * * 

The black duck found on the Columbia is the same as 
Captain Lewis noticed on many parts of the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi Rivers ; and the divers and the blue-winged teal 
resemble in all respects those of the United States. 

The fish we saw on the coast and in the Columbia were 
the whale, porpoise, skait, flounder, salmon, red char, two 
species of salmon trout, mountain or speckled trout, bot- 
tlenose, anchovy, and sturgeon. 

The whale is sometimes pursued and taken with the 
harpoon by the Indians, but is much mare frequently kill- 
ed by running against the rocks in violent storms, and 
thrown on shore by the wind and tide. * * * 

The porpoise, skait, and flounder are the same as those 
found on the Atlantic coast. 

The common salmon and red char are inhabitants both 
of the sea and rivers. The former are usually the largest, 
and weigh from five to fifteen pounds. They are found in 
all the rivers and little creeks on the western side of the 
continent, and the natives are greatly indebted to them for 
their subsistence. The body of the fish is from two and a 
half to three feet long, proportionably broad, and covered 
with imbricated scales of a moderate size : the eye is 
large, the iris of a silvery colour, and the pupil black ; 
the rostrum or nose extends beyond the under jaw, and 



362 APPENDIX. 

both jaws are armed with a single series of long teeth, 
which are subulate and inflected near the extremities of 
the jaws, where they are also more closely arranged ; they 
have also some sharp teeth of smaller size, and sharp 
points on the tongue, which is thick and fleshy. The lins 
of the back are two : the first is placed nearer the head 
than the ventral fins, and has several rays ; while the sec- 
ond is far back, near the tail, and has no rays. The flesh 
of this fish, when in order, is of a deep flesh-coloured red, 
and of every shade from that to an orange yellow, but 
when very meagre it is almost white. The roe is in high 
estimation among the natives, who dry it in the sun, and 
preserve it for a great length of time. * * * 

The red char is rather broader in proportion to its length 
than the common salmon. The scales are also imbrica- 
ted, but rather larger ; the rostrum extends far beyond the 
under jaw, and the teeth are neither so large nor numerous 
as those of the salmon. Some of these fish are almost 
entirely red on the belly and sides ; others are much whi- 
ter than the salmon, and none of them are variegated with 
dark spots, though in regard to their flesh, roe, and every 
particular with regard to form, they are like that fish. 

Of salmon trout we observed two- kinds, differing only 
in colour. They are seldom more than two feet in 
length, and are much narrower in proportion to their 
length than the salmon or red char. The jaws are near- 
ly of the same length, and are furnished with a single se- 
ries of subulate, straight teeth, neither as long nor as large 
as those of the salmon. The mouth is wide, and on the 
tongue there are also some teeth : the fins are placed much 
like those of the salmon. At the Great Falls we found 
this fish of a silvery white colour on the belly and sides, 
and of a bluish light brown on the back and head. The 
other kind is of a dark colour on its back, and its sides and 
belly are yeUow, with transverse stripes of dark brown ; a 
little red being sometimes intermixed with these colours 
on the belly and sides towards the head. The eye, flesh, 
and roe are like those of the salmon. 

The white species found below the Falls were in excel- 
lent order when the salmon were entirely out of season, 
and not fit for use : they associate with the red char in 
little rivulets and creeks. This fish is about two feet eighi 



APPENDIX. 



363 



inches in length, and weighs about ten pounds : the eye is 
moderately ifrge, the pupil black, with a smal admixture 
rveUovv and the iris of a silvery white, a little tinged 
nllts border with a yeUowish brown. The fins are 
small S proportion to the size of the fish, and are bony 
sman in p.ut. except the tail and back fins, which 

LSghU^TT«^^^^ fin and the ventral ones 

crntafeach ten rays ; those of the gills, thirteen ; that of 
the taU twelve! and the small fin placed near and above 
the a 1 hTs no bony rays, but is a tough, flexible substance 
covered with a smooth skin. It is thicker in proportion to 
?ts wTdth than the salmon : the tongue is thick and firrn, 
armld on each border with smaU subulate teeth in a single 

d mt we never saw this fish below the mountains 

ThelotSenose is the same as that seen in the Missouri, 
and is found exclusively within the mountams^ 

The anchovY, called by the natives olthen, is so deiicaie 
a Ish thatTsoon becomes tainted unless pickled or 
smoked The Indians run a small stick through the guis 
and ether hang them up to dry in the smoke of their 
lodges? or Se small fires under them for this pur- 

''^Of sUfi^sh we observed the clam, the Pji^mMe the 
common muscle, the cockle, and a species with a circular 
fla?Then The clam of the Pacific coast is very small ; 
the shell consLing of two valves opening with hmges, and 
bdncT smooth thinfof an oval form like that of the common 
Srand of a 'sky-blue colour. It is about one and a 
inches in length^and hangs in ^'l-t^^^ the moss o 
the rocks- the natives sometimes eat them, ine per 
winkL both of the river, and the ooe.n,^ss^ri.r^o 
those fiund in the same situation on t^e ^^laiitic coast^ 
The common muscle of the river is the same as mat 
in the rivers on the Atlantic : the cockle is ^^f^f^^f 

also closely resembles that in the f^^f ^'^^^ J.^tWcii' 
Uk€iwise an animal inhabiting a shell that is periectiy cir 



364 APPENDIX. 

cular, about three inches in diameter, thin and entire on 
the margin, convex and smooth on the upper side, plain 
on the under part, and covered with a number of minute 
uapiUary fibres, by means ot vi^hich it attaches itself to the 
sides of the rocks. The shell is thin, and consists of one 
valve, with a small circular valve in the centre of the 
under shell : the animal is soft and boneless. 

The pellucid jelly-like substance, called the sea-nettle, is 
found in great abundance along the strand of the Pacific, 
where it is thrown up by the waves and tide. 

There are two species of fuci thrown up in this manner. 
The first species consists, at one extremity, of a large ves- 
icle or hollow vessel, which will contain from one to two 
gallons : it is of a conic shape, the base of which forms the 
extreme end, and is convex and globular, having in its 
centre some short, broad, angular fibres. Its substance is 
of about the consistence of the rind of a citron melon, and 
three fourths of an inch thick ; the rind being smooth from 
the small extremity of the cone. A long, hollow, cylindri- 
cal, and regularly tapering tube extends to twenty or thirty 
feet, and terminates in a number of branches, which are 
flat, half an inch in width, and rough, particularly on the 
edges, where they are furnished with a number of little 
ovate vesicles or bags of the size of a pigeon's egg. This 
plant seems calculated to float at each extremity, while 
the little end of the tube, from whence the branches pro- 
ceed, lies deepest in the water. The other species, seen 
on the coast towards the Killamucks, resembles a large 
pumpkin : it is solid, and its specific gravity greater than 
the water, though sometimes thrown on shore by the 
waves. It is of a yellowish brown colour, the rind smooth, 
and its consistence harder than that of the pumpkin, but 
easily cut with a knife : there are some dark brown fibres, 
rather harder than any other part, which pass longitu- 
dinally through the pulp or fleshy substance which forms 
the interior of this marine production. 

The reptiles we saw in the country west of the Rocky 
Mountains are the rattlesnake,* the gartersnake, the liz- 
ard, and the snail. 

The gartersnake appears to belong to the same family 

* See Journal, i., 202. 



APPENDIX. 



365 



as the common gartersnake of the Atlantic coast, and, Uke 
that snake, it has no poisonous quahties. It has one hun- 
dred and sixty scuti on the abdomen, and seventy on the 
tail : those on the abdomen near the head and jaws, as 
high as the eye, are of a bluish white, and as they recede 
from the head they become of a dark brown. The field 
of the back and sides is black : a narrow stripe of light yel- 
low runs along the centre of the back ; and on each side 
of this stripe there is a range of small, tranverse, oblong 
spots, of a pale brick red, diminishing as they recede from 
the head, and disappearing at the commencement of the 
tail. The pupil of the eye is black, with a narrow rmg of 
white bordering on its edge, and the remainder of the ins 
is of a dark yellowish brown. 

The horned lizard, called, and for what reason we could 
never learn, the prairie buffalo, is a native of the country 
west of the mountains, as well as on the Missouri : it is of 
the same size, and much the same in appearance, as the 
black lizard.* 

The vegetable productions of the country on the Lolum- 
bia, furnishing a large proportion of the food of the natives, 
are the roots of a species of thistle, the fern, rush, liquo- 
rice, and a small cylindrical root resembling in flavour and 
consistency the sweet potato. 

The thistle, called by the natives shanataque, grows in 
a deep, rich, dry loam, with a considerable mixture of 
sand. The stem is simple, ascending, cylindric, and his- 
pid, and rises to the height of three or four feet. The cau- 
line leaf is simple, crenate, and oblong, rather more ob- 
tuse at its apex than at its insertion, decurrent, and its po- 
sition declining, while its margin is armed with prickles, 
and its disk hairy. The flower was dry and mutilated 
when we saw it, but the pericarp seemed to be much like 
that of the common thistle. The root-leaves, which still 
possessed their verdure, and were about half grown, were 
of a pale green colour. The root, which is the only part 
used, is from nine to fifteen inches long, about the size of 
a man's thumb, perpendicular, fusiform, and with from two 
to four radicles ; the rind being of a brown colour, and 
somewhat rough. When first taken from the earth it is 

* For farther account, see Journal, ii., 230, 



366 APPENDIX. 

white, and nearly as crisp as a carrot, and in this r/cate is 
sometimes eaten without any preparation. But when pxa 
pared by the same process as that used for the paihea 
quamash, which is the most usual and the best method, it 
becomes black, and is much improved in flavour. Its taste 
ia exactly like that of sugar, and it is the sweetest vege- 
table eaten by the Indians. After being baked in the kiln, 
it is eaten either simply or with train oil ; sometimes 
pounded fine and mixed with cold water, until it is re- 
duced to the consistence of sagamity, or Indian musb, 
which last was the most agreeable to our palates. 

Three species of fern grew in the neighbourhood of our 
winter encampment at the mouth of the Columbia, but the 
root of only one is eaten. It is very abundant in those 
parts of the open lands and prairies which have a deep, 
loose, rich, black loam, without any sand, where it attains 
the height of four or five feet, and is a beautiful plant, of a 
fine green colour in summer. The stem, which is smooth, 
cylindric, and slightly grooved on one side, rises erectlj 
for about half its height, when it divides into two branches, 
or, rather, long footstalks, which put forth in pairs from 
one side only, and near the edges of the groove, declining 
backward from the grooved side. These footstalks them- 
selves are likewise grooved and cylindric ; and as the) 
gradually taper towards the extremities, put forth others 
of a smaller size, which are alternate, and have forty oi 
fifty alternate, pinnate, horizontal, and sessile leaves. The 
leaves are multipartite for half the length of their footstalk, 
when they assume the tongue-like form altogether ; being 
also revolute, with the upper disk smooth, and the lowei 
resembling cotton. The top is annual, and was therefore 
dead when we saw it, but it produces neither flower nor 
fruit. The root is perennial, and grows horizontally, 
sometimes a little diverging or obliquely descending, and 
frequently dividing itself as it extends, and shooting up a 
number of stems. It lies about four inches under the sur- 
face of the earth, is of a cylindrical form, with few or no 
radicles, and varies from the size of a goose-quill to that 
of a man's finger. The bark is black, thin, brittle, and 
rather rough, and easily separates in flakes from the part 
which is eaten, being divided in the centre into two parts 
by a strong, flat, white ligament, like a piece of thin tape ; 



APPENDIX. 367 

on each side of which is a white substance, resembling, 
after the root is roasted, botli in appearance and flavour, 
the dough of wheat. It has a pungency, however, which 
was disagreeable to us, though the natives eat it voracious- 
I}', and it seems to be very nutritious. 

The rush is most commonly used by the Killamucks and 
other Indians along the seacoast, on the sands of which it 
grows in greatest abundance. From each root a single 
stem rises erectly to the height of three or four feet, some- 
what thicker than a large quill, hollow and jointed : about 
twenty or thirty long, lineal, stellate, or radiate and hori- 
zontal leaves surround the stem at each joint, about half 
an inch above which its stem is sheathed like the sand- 
rush. When green it resembles that plant also in appear- 
ance, as well as in having a rough stem. It is not branch- 
ing, nor does it bear, as far as we could discover, either 
flov^^er or seed. At the bottom of this stem, which is an- 
nual, is a strong radicle, about an inch long, descending 
perpendicularly to the root ; while just above the junction 
of tills radicle with the stem, the latter is surrounded, in 
the form of a wheel, with six or nine other radicles de- 
scending obliquely. The root attached to the perpendicu- 
lar radicle is a perennial solid bulb, about an inch long, and 
of the thickness of a man's thumb, of an ovate form, de- 
pressed on one or two of its sides, and covered with a thin, 
smooth, black rind : the pulp is white, brittle, and easily 
masticated. It is commonly roasted, though sometimes 
eaten raw, but in both states is rather an insipid root. 

The hquorice of this country does not differ from that 
common in the United States. It here delights in a deep, 
loose, sandy soil, and grows very large and abundantly. 
It is prepared by being roasted in the embers, and pounded 
slightly with a small stick, in order to separate from it the 
strong ligament in its centre, which is thrown away, and 
the rest is eaten. Prepared in this way it has an agreea- 
ble flavour, not unlike that of the sweet potato.* The root 
of the cattail, or cooper's flag, is likewise eaten by the In- 
dians ; and also a small, dry, tuberous root, two inches in 
length, and about the thickness of the finger : this is eaten 
raw, and is crisp, milky, and of an agreeable flavour. 

* See Journal, ii., 115, 



368 APPENDIX. 

Besides the small cylindrical root mentioned above, therd 
is another of the same form and appearance, which is usu- 
ally boiled, and eaten with train oil. Its taste, however, 
is disagreeably bitter. 

But the most valuable of all the Indian roots is the wap- 
patoo, or the bulb of the common sagittifolia, or arrow- 
head. It does not grow near the mouth of the Columbia 
but is found in great abundance in the marshy grounds of 
that beautiful valley, which extends from near the Quick- 
sand River seventy miles westward, and is a principal ar- 
ticle of trade between the inhabitants of that valley and 
those of the seacoast. 

This shrub rises to the height of four or five feet, the stem 
being simple and much branched. The bark is of a red- 
dish dark brown, being on the main stem somewhat rough, 
while on the boughs it is smooth : the leaf is obtuse at the 
apex, and acute and angular at the insertion of the pedicle ; 
three fourths of an inch in length, and three eighths in 
width, smooth, and of a paler green than evergreens gen- 
erally are. The fruit is a small deep purple berry, of a 
pleasant flavour ; the natives eat the berry when ripe, but 
seldom collect it in quantities to dry for winter use.* 

The native fruits and berries in most general use among 
the Indians are the shallun, the solmc, the cranberry, a 
berry like the black haw, the scarlet berry of the plant 
called sacacommis, and a purple berry like the whortle- 
berry. 

The shallun is an evergreen plant, abounding near the 
mouth of the Colmnbia, and its leaves are the favourite 
food of the elk. It is of a thick growth, rising cylindrical- 
ly to the height of three, and sometimes five feet, and va- 
rying from the size of a goose-quill to that of a man's 
thumb. The stem is simple, branching, reclining, and 
partially flexuose, with a bark which, on the older part, is 
of a reddish brown colour, while the younger branches are 
red where exposed to the sun, and green elsewhere. The 
leaf is three fourths of an inch in length, two and a half in 
breadth, and of an oval form ; the upper disk being of a 
glossy deep green, and the under of a pale green. The 
Truit is a deep purple berry about the size of a common 

* See Journal ii., 85, 171. 



APPENDIX. 369 

black cherry, oval, and rather bluntly pointed : the peri- 
carp is divided into five acute angular points, and envet 
ops a soft pulp containing a great number of small brown 
seeds. 

The solme is a small pale red berry, the production of a 
plant resembling in size and shape that which produces 
the fruit called in the United States Solomon's seal-berry, 
the berry being attached to the stem in the same manner. 
It is of a globular form, containing a soft pulp which en- 
velops four seeds about the size of the seed of the common 
small grape. It grows among the woodland moss, and is, 
to all appearance, an annual plant. 

The cranberry is of the low, viny kind, and grows in 
marshes or bogs : it is precisely the same as the cranberry 
of the United States. 

The fruit which, though rather larger, resembles in 
shape the black haw, is a light brown berry, the product of 
a tree resembling in size, shape, and appearance that 
which in the United States is called the wild crab-apple. 
The leaf, too, is precisely the same, as is also the bark both 
in texture and colour. The berries grow in clumps of from 
three to eighteen or twenty, at the end of the small branch- 
es, each berry being supported by a separate stem: the 
berry is ovate, and its lower end slightly concave. The 
wood of this tree is excessively hard, and the natives 
make wedges of it to split their boards and firewood, and to 
hollow out their canoes. Our party likewise made use of 
it for wedges and axe-handles. The fruit is exceedingly 
acid, and resembles in flavour the wild crab. The peri- 
carp contains a soft, pulpy substance, divided into four 
cells, each containing a single seed ; and its outer coat 
consists of a thin and smooth, though firm and tough pel- 
licle. 

The plant called sacacommis by the Canadian traders 
derives its name from the clerks of the trading companies 
being generally very fond of smoking its leaves, which 
they carry about them in a small bag. It grows generally 
in open pine districts or on their borders. We found it in 
the prairies bordering on the Rocky Mountains, and in the 
more open woodlands. It is indiscriminately the growth 
of a very rich and very poor soil, and is found in the same 
abundance in both. The natives on the western side of 



370 APPENDIX. 

the Rocky Mountains are very fond of this berry, althf ,,h 
to us it was a very tasteless and insipid fruit. The is^ .<'ab 
is an evergreen, and retains its verdure in the same per- 
fection the whole year round. However inclement the 
climate, the root puts forth a great number of stems, which 
separate near the surface of the ground, each stem being 
from the size of a small quill to that of a man's finger. 
The stems are much branched, the branches forming an 
acute angle with them, and are more properly procum- 
bent than creeping, although both the stems and branches 
sometimes put forth radicles, which strike obliquely into 
the ground. These radicles, however, are by no means 
general, or equal in their distances from each other, nor 
do they appear calculated to furnish nutriment to the 
plant. The bark is formed of several layers of a smooth, 
thin, brittle, and reddish substance, easily separated from 
the stem. The leaves, with respect to their position, are 
scattered, yet closely arranged, particularly near the ex 
tremities of the twigs : they are about three fourths of au 
inch in length, oval, obtusely pointed, of a deep green, 
slightly grooved, and the footstalk is of proportionable 
length. The berry is attached in an irregular manner to 
the small boughs among the leaves, and is always support- 
ed by a separate, small, short peduncle : the insertion pro- 
duces a shght concavity in the berry, while its opposite 
end is slightly convex. The outer coat of the pericarp is 
a thin, firm, tough pellicle, while the inner coat consists 
of a dry, mealy powder, of a yellowish white colour, en- 
veloping from four to six large, light brown seeds. The 
colour of the fruit is a fine scarlet, and the natives eat it 
without any preparation. It ripens in September, and re- 
mains on the bushes all the winter, unaffected by the frost. 
These berries are sometimes gathered and hung in the 
lodges in bags, where they are dried without farther 
trouble. 

The deep purple berry, like the whortleberry, terminates 
blj:ntly, and has a cap or cover at the end. The berries 
are attached separately to the sides of the boughs by a 
short stem hanging underneath, and they often grow very 
near each other on the same bough : they separate very 
easily from the stem ; the leaves adhere closely. The 
Bhrub is an evergreen, and rises to the height of six of 



APPENDIX* 371 

eight feet, growing sometimes on high lands, but more 
frequently on low marshy grounds. It is about ten inch- 
es in circumference, divides into many irregular branches, 
and seldom more than one stem springs from the same 
root, though they associate very thickly : the bark is some- 
what rough, and of a reddish brown colour, and the wood 
is very hard. The leaves are alternate, and attached by a 
short footstalk to the horizontal sides of the boughs : their 
form is a long oval, rather more acute towards the apex 
than at the point of insertion ; their margin slightly ser- 
rate, the sides collapsing, thick, firm, smooth, and glossy ; 
the under surface being of a pale or whitish green, and the 
upper of a fine deep green. This beautiful shrub retains its 
verdure throughout the year, and is more peculiarly beau- 
tiful in winter. The natives sometimes eat the berries 
without preparation, sometimes they dry them in the sun, 
and at others in their sweating-kilns. They very fre- 
quently pound them, and bake them in large loaves weigh- 
ing from ten to fifteen pounds ; the bread keeping very 
well for one season, an 1 retaining its juices better by this 
mode of preparation tha n any other. This bread is broken 
and stirred in cold water until it acquires the consistency 
of soup, when it is eaten. 

Trees of a large growth are very abundant, the whole 
neighbourhood of the Pacific coast being well supplied with 
excellent timber. The predominating wood is the fir, of 
which we saw several species. There is one singular cir- 
cumstance attending all the pine of this country, which is, 
that when consumed it yields not the slightest particle of 
ashes. The first species grows to an immense size, and 
is very commonly twen iy-seven feet in circumference six 
feet from the ground, rising to the height of two hundred 
and thirty feet, and one hundred and twenty of that height 
without a limb. We often found them thirty-six feet in 
circumference. One of our party measured one, and found 
it to be forty-two feet in circumference at a point above 
the reach of an ordinary man. This trunk for the distance 
of two hundred feet was destitute of limbs : the tree, too, 
was perfectly sound, and, at a moderate calculation, its 
height might be estimated at three hundred feet. The tim- 
ber is straight-grained throughout, and rives better than 
any other species : the bark scales off in flakes irregularly 



372 APPENDIX. 

round, and is of a reddish brown colour, particularly the 
younger growth ; the trunk is simple, branching, and not 
very proliferous. The leaf is acerose, one tenth of an inch 
m width, and three fourths in length, firm, stiffj and acu- 
minate : it is triangular, a little dechning, and thickly scat- 
tered on all sides of the bough, and springs from small tri- 
angular pedestals of soft, spongy, elastic bark at the junc- 
tion of the boughs. The bud-scales continue to encircle 
their respective twigs for several years : Captain Lewis 
counted as many as four years' growths beyond the scales. 
This tree yields but little resin, and we were never able 
to discover any cone, although we felled several of the 
trees. 

The second is a much more common species, and con- 
stitutes at least one half of the timber near the mouth of 
the Columbia. It seems to resemble the spruce, rises from 
one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty feet, and 
is from four to six feet in diameter, straight, round, and 
regularly tapering. The bark is thin, of a dark colour, and 
much divided by small longitudinal interstices : that of the 
boughs and of young trees is somewhat smooth, but less 
so than that of the balsam fir. The wood is white, very 
soft, but difiicult to rive : the trunk is a simple, branching, 
diffuse stem, not so prohferous as the pines and firs usu- 
ally are. It puts forth buds from the sides of the small 
boughs as well as from their extremities, and the stem 
terminates, like the cedar, in a slender pointed top. The 
leaves are petiolate, their footstalks being short, acerose, 
and rather more than half a line in width, while the leaves 
themselves are very unequal in length, the longest seldom 
exceeding one inch, while others, intermixed on every part 
of the bough, are not more than a quarter of an inch. The 
leaf has a small longitudinal channel on the upper disk, 
ivhich is of a deep glossy green, while the under disk is 
)f a whitish green : the wood yields but little resin. The 
;one is not longer than the end of a man's thumb ; it is 
soft, flexible, of an ovate form, and produced at the ends 
of the small twigs. 

;^.The third species resembles in all points the Canadian 
balsam fir : it grows from two and a half to four feet in 
diameter, and rises to the height of eighty or a hundred 
feet. The stem is simple, branching, and proliferous : ita 



APPENDIX. 373 

leaves are sessile, acerose, one eighth of an inch in length, 
and one sixteenth in breadth, thickly scattered on the 
twigs, and adhering to the under sides only ; gibbous, a 
little declining, obtusely pointed, soft, and flexible. The 
upper disk is marked longitudinally with a slight channel 
of a deep glossy green ; the under one is of a pale green, 
and not glossy. This tree affords considerable quantities 
of a fine aromatic balsam, resembling the balsam of Can- 
ada in taste and appearance. The small pistils, when fill- 
ed, rise like a blister on the trunk and branches. The 
bark that envelops these pistils is soft, and easily punc- 
tured. The general appearance of the bark is dark and 
smooth, but less so than that of the white pine of our 
country. The wood is white and soft. 

The fourth species in size resembles the second. The 
stem is simple, branching, ascending, and proliferous : the 
bark is of a reddish dark brown, thicker than that of the 
third species, and divided by longitudinal interstices, not 
so large as in the second species. The leaves are placed 
like those of the balsam fir, but are only two thirds as wide, 
and of little more than half their length, nor is the upper 
disk as green and glossy. The wood yields no balsam, 
and but little resin ; it is white and tough, although rather 
porous. 

The fifth species is also of about the same size as the 
second, and has a trunk simple, branching, and prolifer- 
ous. The bark is thin, of a dark brown colour, divided 
longitudinally by interstices, and scales off in thin rolling 
flakes: it yields but little balsam. Two thirds of the diame- 
ter of the trunk in the centre presents a reddish white, and 
the remainder is white, porous, and tough. The twigs are 
much longer and more slender than in either of the other 
species : the leaves are acerose, one twentieth of an inch 
in width, and one inch in length ; sessile, inserted on all 
sides of the bough, straight, and obliquely pointing towards 
the extremities. The upper disk has a small longitudinal 
channel, is of a deep green, and not so glossy as in the 
balsam fir. The under disk is of a pale green. 

We have seen a species of this fir on low marshy grounds, 
resembling in all points the foregoing, except that it branch- 
es more diffusely. This tree is generally about thirtj 
feet in height and two in diameter. The diffuseness of 



374 APPENDIX. 

its branches may result from its open situation, as it sel- 
dom grows in the neighbourhood of other trees. The cone 
:s two and a half inches in length, and three and three 
quarters round in its greatest circumference. It tapers 
regularly to a point, and is formed of imbricated scales, of 
a bluntly-rounded form. A thin leaf is inserted in the pith 
of the cone, which overlays the centre of, and extends half 
an inch beyond, the point of each scale. 

The sixth species does not differ from what is called the 
white pine in Virginia, except in the unusual length of its 
cone, which is sometimes sixteen or eighteen inches long, 
and about four in circumference. It grows on the north 
side of the Columbia, near the ocean. 

The seventh and last species is found in low grounds, 
and in places frequently overflowed by the tide, seldom ri- 
sing higher than thirty-five feet, and not being more than 
from two and a half to four feet in diameter. The stem 
is simple, branching, and proliferous ; and the bark resem- 
bles that of the first species, though more rugged. The 
leaves are acerose, two tenths of an inch in width, and 
three fourths in length, firm, stiff, and a little acuminated : 
they end in short, pointed tendrils, gibbous, and thickly 
scattered on all sides of the branch, though adhering only 
to the three under sides : those inserted beneath incline 
sidewise, with upward points, presenting the leaf in the 
shape of a scythe ; while the others are pointing upward, 
sessile, and, like those of the first species, grow from small 
triangular pedestals of a spongy, soft, and elastic bark. 
The under disk is of a deep glossy green, the upper of a 
pale whitish green. The boughs retain leaves of six years' 
growth : the bud scales resemble those of the first species. 
The cone is of an ovate figure, three and a half inches in 
length, and three in circumference, thickest in the middle, 
tapering, and terminating in two obtuse points : it is com- 
posed of small, flexible scales, imbricated, and of a reddish 
brown colour. Each scale covers two small seeds, and is 
itself covered in the centre by a small, thin, inferior scale, 
acutely pointed : these scales proceed from the sides of 
the boughs as well as from their extremities. This tree 
was nowhere to be seen above the Wappatoo. 

The stem of the black alder arrives to a great size. It 
is simple, branching, and diffuse : the bark is smooth, of a 



APPENDIX. «375 

lieht colour, with white spreading spots, resembhng those 
ot the beech; and the leaf, fructification, &c., resemble 
precisely those of the common alder of our country. They 
grow separately from different roots, and not m clusters, 
hke those of the United States. The black alder does not 
cast its leaf until the 1st of December. It is sometimes 
found growing to the height of sixty or seventy feet, and 
from two to four feet in diameter. 

There is a tree growing along the Columbia, below the 
entrance of Cataract River, which, when divested of its 
foliacre much resembles the ash. The trunk is simple, 
branching, and diffuse ; the leaf petiolate, plain, divided by 
four deep Unes, similar to that of the pahn, and considera- 
bly lobate ; the lobes terminating in from three to five an- 
gular points, and their margins being indented with irregu- 
lar and somewhat circular incisures. The petiole is cy- 
lindrical, smooth, and seven inches long, and the leaf it- 
self eight inches in length, and twelve in breadth. This 
tree is frequently three feet in diameter, and rises from 
forty to fifty feet : its fruit is a winged seed, somewhat re- 
sembling that of the maple. 

In the same part of the country there is a tree resem- 
bling the white maple, though much smaUer, and seldom 
of more than six or seven inches in diameter. These trees 
grow in clusters, from fifteen to twenty feet m height, from 
the same bed of roots, spreading and leaning outward. 
The twigs are long and slender ; the stem is simple and 
branching ; the bark resembles in colour that of the white 
maple : the leaf is petiolate, plain, scattered, nearly circu- 
lar, with acute angular incisures round the margin, of an 
inch in length, and from six to eight in number ; the acute 
angular points being crenate, three inches in length and 
four in width. The petiole is cylindric, smooth, and an 
inch and a quarter in length : the fruit was not seen. 

. The undergrowth consists of the honeysuckle, the alder, 
the seven bark, or, as it is called in the United States, nine 
bark, the whortleberry, a shrub like the quiUwood, a plant 
resembhng the mountain-hoUy, the green brier, and the fern. 

The honeysuckle common in the United States we found 
about the mouth of the Columbia, having first discovered 
it on the waters of the Kooskooskee, near the country of 
the Chopunnish, and afterward below the Grand Rapids. 
II.— F F 



376 APPENDIX. 

An alder resembling that of our country we found alsn 
in great abundance in the woodlands on the west side of 
the Rocky Mountains. It differs, however, in the colour 
of its berry, which is of a pale sky blue, whereas that of 
the United States is of a deep purple. 

The seven bark, which is the same as the nine bark of 
the United States, is also common here. 

There is a species of whortleberry here, found on the 
highlands from the Columbia Valley to the seacoast, rising 
to the height of six or eight feet, branching and diffuse. 
The stem is cylindrical, and of a dark brown colour ; the 
collateral branches being green, smooth, and square, and 
putting forth a number of alternate branches of the same 
colour from the two horizontal sides only. The fruit is a 
small deep purple berry, held in much esteem by the na- 
tives. The leaf is of a pale green, three fourths of an inch 
in length, and three eighths in width ; oval, and terminating 
more acutely at the apex than at the insertion of the foot- 
stalk ; the base nearly entire, and but slightly serrate : the 
footstalks are short ; their relative position being alternate, 
two-rowed, and proceeding from the horizontal sides of the 
boughs only. 

There are two species of shrubs, which were first seen 
at the Grand Rapids of the Columbia, and afterward else- 
where, growing in rich dry grounds, usually in the neigh- 
bourhood of some watercourse. The roots are creeping 
and cylindrical : the stem of the first species is from a foot 
to eighteen inches in height, and about as large as an or- 
dinary goosequill ; simple, unbranched, and erect. Its 
leaves are cauline, compound, and spreading ; the leaflets 
being jointed, oppositely pinnate, three paired, terminating 
in one footstalk, widest at the base, and tapering to an 
acuminate point. They are an inch and a quarter in their 
greatest width, and three inches and a quarter in length ; 
each point of the margin being armed with a subulate 
thorn, of which there are from thirteen to seventeen in 
number. They are veined, glossy, carinate, and vnrinkled, 
their points tending obliquely towards the common foot- 
stalk. 

The stem of the second species is procumbent, about 
the size of that of the first species, jointed and unbranch- 
ed. Its leaves are cauline, compound, and oppositely pin- 



APPENDIX. 377 

nate; the rib beiri? frcm fourteen to sixteen inches in 
lengthf cylindric, and smooth. The leaflets are two inches 
and a half long, o^je inch wide, and of the greatest breadth 
half an inch from the base, which they regularly surround, 
and taper from it to an acute apex, usually terminated by 
a small subulate thorn. They are jointed and oppositely 
pinnate, consisting of six pairs, and terminating in one ; 
sessile, serrate, and ending in a small subulate point, of 
which there are from twenty-five to twenty-seven in all. 
They are smooth, plain, of a deep green, and all obliquely 
tending towards the footstalk, and retain their colour 
through the winter. 

The green brier grows most abundantly in rich dry 
lands in the vicinity of water-courses, but is also found in 
small quantities in pine lands at a distance from water. 
In the former situation the stem is frequently of the size 
of a man's finger, and rises perpendicularly four or five 
feet ; it then descends in an arch, becoming procumbent, 
or resting on some neighbouring plant : it is simple, un- 
branched, and cylindrio ; and in the last-mentioned situation 
it grows much smaller, and is usually procumbent. The 
stem is armed with sharp, forked briers ; the leaf is peti- 
olate, ternate, and resembles in shape and appearance that 
of the purple raspberry, so common in the Atlantic States. 
The fruit is a berry resembling in all respects the black- 
berry ; and it is eaten when ripe by the natives, who hold 
it in much esteem, although they do not dry it for winter 
consumption. This shrub was first discovered at the en- 
trance of Quicksand River ; and it grows so abundantly 
in the fertile valley of the Columbia and on the islands, 
that the country is almost impenetrable. It retains its 
verdure until late in the summer. 

Besides the fern already described as furnishing a nutri- 
tious root, there are two other plants of the same species, 
v-hich may be divided into the large and the small. The 
large fern rises three or four feet : the stem is a common 
footstalk, proceeding immediately from the radix, some- 
what flat, about the size of a man's arm, covered with in 
iiumerabie black, coarse, capillary radicles, issuing from 
every part of its surface ; and a single root sends forth 
from twenty to forty of these footstalks, bending out 
ward from the common centre. The ribs are cylindric. 



378 APPENDIX. 

their whole length being marked longitudinally with a 
groove on the upper side ; and on either side of this groove, 
a little below its edge, the leaflets are inserted. These 
are shortly petiolate for about two thirds the length of the 
middle rib, commencing from the bottom, and from thence 
to the extremity are sessile: the rib is terminated by a 
single undivided lanceolate leaflet from two to four inches 
in length, having a small acute angular projection oblique- 
ly cut at the base. The upper surface is smooth, and of a 
deep green ; the under of a pale green, and covered with 
a brown protuberance of a woolly appearance, particularly 
near the central fibre. The leaflets are alternately pinnate, 
and in number from one hundred and ten to one hundred 
and forty : they are shortest at the two extremities of the 
common footstalk, largest in the centre, gradually length- 
ening, and diminishing as they succeed each other. 

The small fern likewise rises in common footstalks from 
the radix, from four to eight in number, and from four to 
eight inches in length. The central rib is marked with a 
slight longitudinal groove throughout its whole length : the 
leaflets are oppositely pinnate for about one third of the 
length of the footstalk from the bottom, and thence alter- 
nately pinnate. The footstalk terminates in a simple undi- 
vided lanceolate leaflet, which is oblong, obtuse, convex, 
entire, and has its upper disk marked with a slight longitu- 
dinal groove : near the upper extremity these leaflets are 
decursively pinnate, as are all those of the large fern. 
Both these species remain green through the winter. 



ENUMERATION OF INDIAN NATIONS, 

AND 

THEIR PLACES OF GENERAL RESIDENCE. 



1. The Shoshonee nation — residing in the spring and 
summer on the west fork of Lewis's River, a branch of 
the Columbia, and in the fall and winter on the Missouri ; 
sixty lodges, eight hundred souls. 

2. The Ootlashoot tribe of the Tushepah nation — resi- 
ding in the spring and summer on Clarke's River, within 
the Rocky Mountains, and in the fall and winter on the 
Missouri and its tributary waters : thirty-three lodges, four 
hundred souls. 

3. The Chopunnish nation — residing on the Kooskoos- 
kee River below the Forks, and on Colter's Creek, and 
sometimes passing over to the Missouri : thirty-three 
lodges, two thousand souls. 

4. The Pelloatpallah band of the Chopunnish — residing 
on the Kooskooskee above the forks, and on the small 
streams which fall into that river west of the Rocky 
Mountains and the Chopunnish River, and sometimes 
passing over to the Missouri : thirty-three lodges, sixteen 
hundred souls. 

5. The Kimooenim band of the Chopunnish — residing 
on Lewis's River, above the entrance of the Kooskooskee, 
as high up that river as the Forks : thirty- three lodges, 
eight hundred souls. 

6. The Yeletpo band of the Chopunnish — residing along 
the southwest mountains, on a small river which falls into 
Lewis's River above the entrance of the Kooskooskee, 
which they call Weaucum : thirty-three lodges, two hun- 
dred and fifty souls. 

7. The Willewah band of the Chopunnish — residing oo 



580 APPENDIX. 

a river of the same name, which discharges itself ini' 
Lewis's River on the southwest side, below the Forks c 
that river : thirty-three lodges, live hundred souls. 

8. The Soy ennom band of the Chopunnish — residing ok 
the north side of the east fork of Lewis's River, from it 
junction to the Rocky Mountains, and on Lamaltar Creek 
thirty-three lodges, four hundred souls. 

9. The Chopunnish of Lewis's River — residing belo^vr 
the entrance of the Kooskooskee, on either side of that rivet 
to its junction with the Columbia : forty lodges, two thou- 
sand three hundred souls. 

10. The Sokulk nation — residing on the Columbia above 
the entrance of Lewis's River, as high up as the entrance 
of Clarke's River : one hundred and twenty lodges, two 
thousand four hundred souls. 

11. The Chimnahpums — residing on the northwest side 
of the Columbia, both above and below the entrance of 
Lewis's River, and on the Tapteal River, which falls into 
the Columbia fifteen miles above Lewis's River : forty two 
lodges, one thousand eight hundred and sixty souls, 

12. The Wollawollah nation — residing on both sides of 
the Columbia, from the entrance of Lewis's River as low 
as the Muscleshell Rapid, and in winter passing over to 
the Tapteal River : forty-six lodges, one thousand six hun- 
dred souls. 

13. The Pishquitpah nation — ^residing at the Muscleshell 
Rapid, and on the north side of the Columbia to the com- 
mencement of the high country ; wintering on the borders 
of the Tapteal River : seventy-one lodges, two thousand 
six hundred souls. 

14. The Wahowpum nation — residing on the north 
branch of the Columbia, in different bands, from the Pish- 
quitpahs as low as the River Lepage, and wintering on the 
banks of Tapteal and Cataract Rivers : thirty-three lodges, 
seven hundred souls. 

15. The Eneeshur nation — residing at the upper part o< 
the Great Narrows of the Columbia on either side : forty- 
one lodges, twelve hundred souls. 

16. The Echeloot nation — also residing at the uppei 
part of the Great Narrows of the Columbia, on the north 
side of which is the great mart for all the couptry ; twen 
ty-one lodges, one thousand souls. 



APPENDIX. 381 

17. The Chilluckittequaw nation — lesiding next below 
the Narrows, and extending down on the north side of the 
Columbia to the River Labiche : thirty-two lodges, fourteen 
hundred souls. 

18. The Smackshop band of the Chilluckittequaws — re- 
siding on the Columbia River, on each side of the entrarce 
of the Labiche, to the neighbourhood of the Grand Rapids 
of that river : twenty-four lodges, eight hundred souls. 

19. The Shahala nation — residing at the Grand Rapids 
of the Columbia, and extending down in different villages 
as low as the Multnomah River, consisting of the follow- 
ing tribes : viz., the Yehhuhs, above the Rapids ; the Clah- 
clellahs, below the Rapids ; the Wahclellahs, below all the 
rapids ; and the Neerchokioos (one house, one hundred 
lodges), on the south side, a few miles above the Multno- 
mah River : altogether, sixty-two houses, two thousand 
eight hundred souls. 

The Wappatoo Indians, viz. : 

20. The Nechacokee tribe — residing on the south side 
of the Columbia, a few miles below Quicksand River, and 
opposite Diamond Island : one lodge, one hundred souls. 

The Shoto tribe — residing on the north side of the Co- 
lumbia, back of a pond, and nearly opposite to the entrance 
of the Multnomah River : eight lodges, four hundred and 
sixty souls. 

The Multnomah tribe — ^residing on Wappatoo Island, at 
the mouth of the Multnomah, the remains of a large na- 
tion : six lodges, eight hundred souls. 

The Clahnahquah tribe of the Multnomahs — residing on 
Wappatoo Island, below the Multnomahs : four lodges, one 
hundred and thirty souls. 

The Nemalquinner tribe of the Multnomahs — residing 
on the northeast side of the Multnomah River, three milea 
above its mouth : four lodges, two hundred souls. 

The Cathlacomatups, a tribe of the Multnomahs — re- 
siding on the south side of Wappatoo Island, at a bend o< 
the Multnomah : three lodges, one hundred and seventy 
souls. 

The Caliiianahquiahs^ a tribe of the Multnomahs — resi> 
ding on the southwest side of Wappatoo Island: six 
lodges, four hundred souls. 



382 APPENDIX. 

The Claukstar nation — residing on a small river which 
discharges itself on the southwest side of Wappatoo Isl- 
and : twenty-eight lodges, one thousand two hundred souls. 

The Claninnatas — residing on the southwest side of 
Wappatoo Island : five lodges, two hundred souls. 

The Cathlacumups — residing on the main shore, south- 
west of Wappatoo Island : six lodges, four hundred and 
fifty souls. 

The Clannahminamuns — residing on the southwest side 
of Wappatoo Island : twelve lodges, two hundred and 
eighty souls. 

The Quathlapotle nation — residing on the southwest 
side of the Columbia, above the entrance of Towahna- 
hiook River, opposite the lower point of Wappatoo Island : 
fourteen lodges, nine hundred souls. 

The Cathlamahs — residing on a creek which falls into 
the Columbia on the north side, at the lower part of the 
Columbian Valley : ten lodges, two hundred souls. 

21. The Skilloot nation — residing in different villages 
on both sides of the Columbia, from the lower part of the 
Columbian Valley to Sturgeon Island, and on either side 
of the Coweliske River : fifty lodges, two thousand five 
hundred souls. 

The Hullooetells also reside on the Coweliske. 

22. The Wahkiacums — residing on the north side of the 
Columbia, opposite to the Marshy Islands : eleven lodges, 
two hundred souls. 

23. The Cathlamahs — residing on the south side of the 
Columbia, opposite to the Sea Islands : nine lodges, three 
hundred souls. 

24. The Chinnooks — residing on the north side of the 
Columbia, at the entrance of and on the Chinnook River : 
twenty-eight lodges, four hundred souls. 

25. The Clatsop nation — residing on the south side of 
the Columbia, and a few miles along the southeast coast, 
on both sides of Point Adams : fourteen lodges, two hun 
dred souls. 

26. The Killamuck nation — residing from the Clatsopg 
of the coast along the southeast coast for many miles : 
fifty lodges, one thousand souls. . 



APPENDIX. 383 



Nations speaking the Killamuck Language, concerning which 
we obtained the following information from the Indians. 

27. The Lucktons — residing on the seacoast to the 
southwest of the Killamucks : twenty souls. 

The Kahuncles — residing on the seacoast southwest of 
the Lucktons : four hundred souls. 

The Lukawis — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
southeast : a large town, eight hundred souls. 

The Youikcones — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
southeast : large houses, seven hundred souls. 

The Necketoos — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
southeast : a large town, seven hundred souls. 

The Ulseahs — residing on the seacoast to the south 
southeast : a small town, one hundred and fifty souls. 

The Youitts — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
southeast : a small town, one hundred and fifty souls. 

The Sheastuckles — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
east of the Lucktons : a large town, nine hundred souls. 

The Killawats — ^residing on the seacoast to the south- 
east of the Lucktons : a large town, five hundred souls. 

28. The Cookkoo-oose nation — residing on the seacoast 
to the south of the Killawats : one thousand five hundred 
souls. 

The Sahlalah nation — residing on the seacoast to the 
south of the Killawats : fifteen hundred souls. 

The Luckaso nation — residing on the same, to the 
south : twelve hundred souls. 

The Hannakalal nation — residing on the same, to the 
south : six hundred souls. 

Indians along the Coast to the Northwest. 

29. The Killaxthocles — residing on the seacoast from 
the Chinnooks to the north-northwest : eight lodges, one 
hundred souls. 

The Chiltz nation — residing from the Killaxthocles to 
the north-northwest : thirty-eight lodges, seven hundred 
souls. 

The Clamoitomish — residing from the Chiltz to the 
north-northwest : twelve lodges, two hundred and sixty 
souls. 



384 iiPPENDIX. 

The Potoashees — residing on the coast northwestward 
of the Clamoitomish : ten lodges, two hundred souls. 

The Pailsh tribe — residing northwest of the Potoashees • 
ten lodges, two hundred souls. 

The Quinults — residing northwest of the Pailsh : sixtj 
lodges, one thousand souls. 

The Quieetsos — residing northwest of the Quinults.- 
eighteen lodges, two hundred and fifty souls. 

The Chillates — residing northwest of the Quieetsos, 
along the coast : eight lodges, one hundred and fifty souls. 

The Calasthocles — residing northwest of the Chillates, 
along the same coast : ten lodges, two hundred souls. 

The Quinnechant nation — residing on the seacoast and 
a creek, north and northwest of the Calasthocles : two 
thousand souls. 

30. The Clarkamus nation — residing on a large river of 
the same name, which heads in Mount Jefferson, and dis- 
charges itself into the Multnomah forty miles up that river 
on its northeast side : this nation has several villages on 
either side, and numbers eighteen hundred souls. 

31. The Cushooks — residing on the northeast bank of 
the Multnomah, immediately below the Falls of that river, 
and about sixty miles above its entrance iiito the Colum- 
bia : six hundred and fifty souls. 

32. The Charcowah nation — residing on the southwest 
bank of the Multnomah, immediately above the Falls : two 
hundred souls. 

33. The Callahpoewah nation — inhabiting the country 
on both sides of the Multnomah, above the Charcowahs for 
a great extent : two thousand souls. 

34. The Shoshonees, or Snake Indians — residing in the 
fall and winter on the Multnomah River, southward of the 
Southwest Mountains, and in spring and summer near the 
heads of the Towahnahiooks, Lepage, Yaumalolam, and 
Wollawollah Rivers, and especially at the Falls of the 
Towahnahiooks, for the purpose of fishing : three thousand 
souls. 

35. The Shoshonees on the Multnomah and its tributary 
waters — their particular places of residence we could not 
ascertain from the Indians on the Columbia : six thousand 
souls. 

36. The Shobarboobeer band of Shoshonees — residing 



APPENDIX. 385 

on the southwest side of the Multnomah, high up that 
river : one thousand six hundred souls. 

37. The Shoshonees residing on the south fork of Lew- 
is's River, and on the Nemo, Walshlemo, Shallette, Shush- 
pellanimmo, Shecomshink, Timmoonumlarwas, and Cop- 
coppakark Rivers, branches of the south fork of Lewis's 
River : three thousand souls. 

We saw Parts of the following Tribes at the Long Narrows : 

38. The Skaddal nation — residing on Cataract River, 
twenty-five miles north of the Big Narrows : two hundred 
souls. 

The Squannaroos — residing on Cataract River below 
the Skaddals : one hundred and twenty souls. 

The Shallattoos — residing on Cataract River above the 
Skaddals : one hundred souls. 

The Shanwappoms — residing at the heads of the Cata- 
ract and Tapteal Rivers : four hundred souls. 

39. The Cutsahnim nation — residing on both sid««rof 
the Columbia, above the Sokulks, on the northern branch- 
es of the Tapteal River, and also on the Wahnaschee : 
sixty lodges, one thousand two hundred souls. 

The Lahanna nation — residing on both sides of the Co- 
lumbia, above the entrance of Clarke's River : ope hundred 
and twenty lodges, two thousand souls. \ 

The Coospellar nation — residing on a river which falls 
into the Columbia to the north of Clarke's River : thirty 
lodges, one thousand six hundred souls. 

The Wheelpoo nation — residing on both sides of Clarke's 
River, from the entrance of the Lastaw to the Great Falls 
of the first-named river : one hundred and thirty lodges, 
two thousand five hundred souls. 

The Hihigheninmio nation — residing from the entrance 
of the Lastaw into Clarke's River, on both sides of the 
former as high as the Forks : forty-five lodges, one thou- 
sand three hundred souls. 

The Lartielo nation — residing at the Falls of the Lastaw 
River, below the Great Wayton Lake, on both sides of the 
river : thirty lodges, six hundred souls. 

The Skeetsomish nation — residing on a small river of 
the same name, which discharges itself into the Lastaw 



386 APPENDIX. 

below the Falls, around the Wayton Lake, and oh two 
islands in that lake : twelve lodges, two thousand souls. 

The Micksucksealton tribe of the Tushepahs — resi- 
ding on Clarke's River, above the Great Falls of that river, 
in the Rocky Mountains : twenty-five lodges, three hun- 
dred souls. 

The Hohilpos, a tribe of the Tushepahs — residing on 
Clarke's River above the Micksucksealtons, in the Rocky 
Mountains : twenty-five lodges, three hundred souls. 

The Tushepah nation — residing on a north fork of 
Clarke's River in spring and summer, and in the fall and 
winter on the Missouri, the Ootlashoots being a band of 
this nation : thirty-five lodges, four hundred and thirty 
souls. 

Estimated number of Indians west of the Rocky Mount- 
ains, 80,000.* 

* Of the tribes occupying the tipper part of the Oregon Territory, Mr. 
Parker numbers the Shoshonees at 10,000 ; the Nez-Perc^s, 2500 ; the 
Cayuses, 2000 ; the WoUawollahs, 500 ; the Paloos'S, along the Pavilion 
River, 300 ; the Spokains, northeast of the Palooses, 800 ; the CcRur 
d'Aldne Indians, 700 ; the Flatheads, to the east and southeast, 800 ; the 
Pondecas, north of Clarke's River, and on a lake of the name of the tribe, 
2200 ; the Cootanies, along M'Gillivray's River, 1000 ; the Canices, north 
of the Cootanies, 4000 ; the Lake Indians on the Arrow Lakes, 500 , Ket- 
tle Falls' Indians, 560 ; the Sinpaivelish, 1000; the Okinagans, at the 
west and northwest, 1050 : of other tribes, wanting the active anil manly 
spirit which he ascribes to the above named, this traveller does not give 
the numbers. The whole number of those enumerated he estimates at 
about 32,000, without including the Falls and La Dalle Indians, and 
other tribes north and south of the Falls, which would, he tliinks, mora 
than double that number. 



A SUMMARY STATEMENT 

OF THE 
RIVERS, CREEKS, AND MOST REMARKABLE PLACES, 

THEIR DISTANCES FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM THE MISSISSIPPI, Vt 
THE MISSOURI, ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND DOWN THE CO- 
LUMBIA TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AS DETERMINED BY CAPTAINS 
LEWIS AND CLARKE. 



To the Village of St. Charles 
" Osage-Woman's River 

Charette's Village and Creek 

Shepherd's Creek 

Gasconade River . 

Muddy River 

Grand Osage River 

Murrow Creek 

Cedar Island and Creek 

Leadmine Hill 

Manitou Creek 

Split-Rock Creek , 

Saline or Salt River 

Manitou River 

Good- Woman's River 

Mine River . 

Arrow Prairie 

Two Charleton Rivers 

Ancient village of the Missouri nation, 

near which place Fort Orleans stood 

Grand River .... 

Snake Creek .... 

Ancient village of the Little Osages 

Tiger's Island and Creek 

Hubert's Island and Creek . 



<4 



« 



it 
« 






it 



(i 



(t 



(( 



(( 



i( 



Total 
Distance. 

21 : 21 



20 

27 

15 

17 

15 

18 

5 

7 

9 

8 

8 

3 

9 

9 

9 

6 

14 



4 

6 

10 

20 

13 



41 
68 
83 
100 
115 
133 
138 
145 
154 
163 
170 
173 
183 
191 
200 
206 
220 



16 ; 2-36 



240 

246 
256 

276 
288 



388 



APPENDIX. 



« 









« 



« 






« 



(( 



t( 



« 






r< 



it 



ii 



To the Fire-Prairie Creek 
" Fort Point . 

Hay- Cabin Creek . 

Coal Bank . 

Bluewater River 

Kanzas River 

Little Platte River 

First old Kanzas village 

Independence Creek, a mile below the 
second old Kanzas village . 

St. Michael's Prairie 

Nodawa River 

Wolf or Loup River 

Big Nemaha River 

Tarkio Creek 

Neeshnabatona River 

Little Nemaha River 

Baldpated Prairie, the Neeshnabatona 
within 150 yards of the Missouri 

Weeping-water Creek . 

River Platte, or Shoal River 

Butterfly or Papillon Creek . 

Moscheto Creek .... 

Ancient village of the Ottoes 

Ancient Ayaways' village, below a bluff, 
on the northeast side 

Bowyer's River . 

Council Bluffs (estabhshment) 

Soldier's River 

Eaneahwaudepon, or Little Sioux River 

Waucarde, or Bad-Spirit Creek 

Around a bend of the river to the north- 
east, the gorge of which is only 974 
yards 

Island three miles northeast of the Maha 
village 

Floyd's Bluff and River 

Big Sioux River 

Commencement of the Copperas, Cobalt, 
Pyrites, and Alum Bluffs . 

Hot or Burning Bluffs .... 

Whitestone River . . . . 



] 
. 12 


Total 

distance. 

: 300 


. 6 


: 306 


. 6 


: 312 


. 9 


: 321 


. 10 


: 331 


. 9 


: 340 


. 9 


: 349 


. 28 


: 377 


[ 28 


: 405 


. 25 


: 430 


. 20 


: 450 


. 14 


: 464 


. 16 


: 480 


. 3 


: 483 


. 25 


: 508 


. 8 


: 516 


'. 23 


: 539 


. 29 


: 568 


. 32 


: 600 


. 3 


: 603 


. 7 


: 610 


: ^^ 


: 621 


'. 6 


; 627 


. 11 


: 638 


. 12 


: 650 


. 39 


: 689 


r 44 


: 733 


. 55 


: 788 



it 



21 : 809 

27 : 836 

14 : 850 

3 : 853 

27 : 880 

30 : 910 

8 : 918 



APPENDIX. 389 

To the Petit-Arc, an old Maha village at the 
mouth of Littlebow Creek 

" Jacques, or James's River . 

" Calumet Bluff (mineral) 

" Ancient fortification, Goodman's Island 

" Plum Creek 

" Whitepoint Creek .... 

** Qiiicurre ...... 

" Poncar River and village . 

" Dome and village of the burrowing 
squirrels 

" Island of cedars 

" White River 

" Three Rivers of the Sioux Pass . 

" Island at the commencement of the 
Big Bend 

" Upper part of the Big Bend, the gorge 
of which is 1| miles 

« Tyler's River 

" Loisel's Fort on Cedar Island 

" Teton River 

" The upper one of five old Ricara villa- 
ges, reduced by the Sioux and aban- 
doned ...... 

" Chayenne River .... 

" An old Ricara village on Lahoocat's 
Island 

" Sarwarkama River .... 

" Wetarhoo River .... 

" The first Ricara village on an island . 

" Second Ricara three villages 

" Stone-Idol Creek .... 

" Warreconne River .... 

" Cannonball River .... 

" Chesschetar River, near six old Man- 
dan villages 

" Old Ricara and Mandan villages 

" Fort Mandan (wintering post of 1804) 

" Mandan villages on either side . 

" Knife River, on which, and near its 
mouth, are the two Minnetaree and 
Maha villages 2 : 1606 





Totil 




Distance. 


20 


938 


12 


950 


10 


960 


16 


976 


10 


986 


8 


994 


6 


: 1000 


10 


1010 


20 


: 1030 


45 


: 1075 


55 


: 1130 


22 


: 1152 


20 


1172 


30 


: 1202 


6 


: 1208 


18 


: 1226 


37 


: 1263 


42 


: 1305 


5 


: 1310 


47 


: 1357 


40 


: 1397 


25 


: 1422 


4 


: 1426 


4 


: 1430 


18 


: 1448 


40 


: 1488 


12 


; 1500 


40 


: 1540 


40 


: 1580 


20 


: 1600 


4 


: 1604 



3yu 


APPENDIX. 


















Total 












Distance. 


To the Island 






11 


: 1617 


<( 


Miry River 






16 


: 1633 


« 


Island in the Little Basin 






28 


: 1661 


« 


Little Missouri River . 






29 


: 1690 


(i 


Wild Onion Creek 






12 


: 1702 


« 


Goose-Egg Lake 






9 


: 1711 


« 


Chaboneau's Creek . 






16 


: 1727 


u 


Goatpen Creek . 






16 


: 1743 


ti 


Hall's Strand, Lake, and Creek . 




47 


: 1790 


<{ 


Whiteearth River 


• • 




50 


: 1840 


«( 


Rochejaune, or Yellowstone River 




40 


: 1880 


(( 


Martha's River . 






60 


: 1940 


(( 


Porcupine River 






50 


: 1990 


« 


Little Dry Creek 






40 


: 2030 


(( 


Big Dry Creek . 






9 


: 2039 


«< 


Little Dry River 






6 


: 2045 


« 


Gulf in the Island Bend 






32 


: 2077 


« 


Milk River . 






13 


: 2090 


« 


Big Dry River . 






25 


: 2115 


i( 


Werner's Run . 






9 


: 2124 


« 


Pine Creek 






36 


: 2160 


« 


Gibson's River . 






17 


: 2177 


u 


Brown Bear-defeated Creek 




12 


: 2189 


tt 


Bratton's River . 


• • 




24 


: 2213 


(C 


Burned-lodge Creek . 


• • 




6 


: 2219 


« 


Wiser's Creek . 


• • 




14 


: 2233 


<{ 


Muscleshell River 


• • 




37 


: 2270 


<{ 


Grouse Creek 


• • 




30 


: 2300 


M 


North Mountain Creek 


^ ^ 




36 


: 2336 


«( 


South Mountain Creek 


• • 




18 


: 2354 


« 


Ibex Island 


• • 




15 


: 2369 


I< 


Goodrich's Island 


• « 




9 


: 2378 


u 


Windsor's Creek 


• • 




7 


: 2385 


a 


Elk Rapid (swift water) 


• • 




15 


: 2400 


It 


Thomson's Creek 


• • 




27 


: 2427 


it 


Judith's River 


• • 




12 


: 2439 


tt 


Ash's Rapid (swift water) 


• • 




4 


: 2443 


tt 


Slaughter River 


• « 




11 


: 2454 


tt 


Stonewall Creek, above 


the N£ 


itural 








Walls ". 


• « 




26 


: 2480 


it 


Maria's River 


• « 




41 


: 2521 


tt 


Snow River 


• « 




19 


: 2540 



APPENDIX. 391 



Totsi 
Distance. 



To Shields's River 28 : 2568 

To the foot of the entrance of Portage River, 

five miles below the Great Falls . 7 : 2575 

Leaving the Missouri below the Falls, and passing by- 
land to the navigable waters of the Columbia River, 

To the entrance of Medicine River . . 18:2593 
" Fort Mountain, passing through the 
plain between Medicine River and 
the Missouri, near the Mis&ouri . 15 : 2608 
« Rocky Mountains, to a gap on the ridge 
which divides the waters of the Mis- 
souri from those of the Columbia, 
passing the north part of a mount- 
ain, and crossing Dearborn's River 35 : 2643 
« Fork of Cohahlarishkit River from the 
north, passing four creeks from the 

north 40 : 2683 

" Seaman's Creek from the north . . 7 : 2690 
" Werner's Creek from the north . . 10 : 2700 
«♦ East fork of Clarke's River, at the en- 
trance of the Cohahlarishkit . . 30 : 2730 
" Clarke's River, below the Forks . 12 : 2742 

" Traveller's Rest Creek, on the west 
side of Clarke's River, about the 

Forks 5 : 2747 

" Forks of Traveller's Rest Creek, at a 

road on the right . . . . 18 : 2765 
** Hot Springs on the Creek . . . 13 : 2778 
" Quamash Glades, passing the head of 
the Creek to a branch of Kooskoos- 

kee River 7 : 2785 

« North branch of the Kooskooskee, at a 

road leading off to the right . . 7:2792 
« Junction of the roads on the top of a 
snowy mountain, the left-hand road 
passing by a fishery . . . 10 : 2803 

** To Hungry Creek from the right, pass- 
ing along a dividing mountain cover- 
ed with deep snow except at two pla- 
II.— G G 



892 APPENDIX. 

ces, which were open, with a south- Di!^!!k 

ern exposure, at 8 and 36 miles . 54 : 2856 

To a glade on Hungry Creek . . . 6 : 2862 

" a glade on a small branch of the same . 8 : 2870 

" a glade on Fish Creek . . . . 9 : 2879 

" CoUins's Creek 13 : 2892 

'* Quamash Flats 11 : 2903 

To the Kooskooskee, or Flathead River, in a 

pine country 12 : 3915 

Thus, from the Missouri, across the Rocky Mountains, 
to the navigable waters of the Columbia, is three hundred 
and forty miles, two hundred of which is over a good road, 
and one hundred and forty over rugged mountains, sixty 
miles of which we found covered with snow from two to 
eight feet deep in the last of June. 

To the entrance of Rockdam Creek . . 8 : 2923 

" Chopunnish River . . . . 5 : 2928 

" Colter's Creek 37 : 2965 

" Lewis's River, at the entrance of the 

Kooskooskee 23 : 2988 

" Sweathouse village and Run . . 7 : 2995 

« Pilot's viUage 11 : 3006 

" Kimooenim Creek . . . . 48 : 3054 
" Drewyer's River, below the Narrows 

of Lewis's River . . . . 5 : 3059 

«* Cave Rapid 28 : 3087 

" Basin Rapid (bad) . . . . 34 : 3121 
" Discharge Rapid (bad) . . . 14 : 3135 
" Columbia, at the mouth of Lewis's Riv- 
er, from the east . . . . 7 : 3142 
** Wollawollah River, at eleven large mat 

lodges of that nation . . . 16 : 3158 
** Muscleshell Rapid (bad), at thirty-three 

mat lodges of the Wollawollahs . 25:3183 
** Pelican Rapid, at forty-eight lodges of 

the Pishquitpah nation . . . 22 • 3205 
•• Twenty-one lodges of the Wahowpum 
nation, residing on three islands at 
the commencement of the high coun- 

tiv ... 18 • -WZd 



APPENDIX. 393 

To the eight lodges of the Wahowpums at Distknee. 

Short Rapid . . . . - 27 : 3250 

" Rocky Rapid, nine lodges of the same 

nation 13 : 3263 

" Lepage River (bad rapid) . . 9 : 3272 

«< Twenty-seven lodges of the Eneeshur 

nation at Fishstack Rapid . . 10 : 3282 

« Towahnahiook River . . . 8 : 3290 

« Great Falls jf the Columbia of 57 feet 
8 inches, near which were forty mat 
lodges of the Eneeshur nation . . 4 : 3294 

" Short Narrows, 45 yards wide . . 2 : 3296 

« Skilloot village of twenty-one large 
wooden houses at the Long Narrows, 
from 50 to 100 yards wide . . 4 : 3300 

« Chilluckittequaw village of eight large 

wooden houses . . • . 5 : 3305 

** Cataract River, a few miles below a 
village of seven houses, and imme- 
diately above one of eleven houses 
of the Chilluckittequaw nation . 19 : 3324 

•* Sepulchre Rock, opposite to a village 

of the Chilluckittequaws . . . 4 : 3328 

" Labiche River, opposite to twenty-six 
houses of the Smackshop nation, 
houses scattered on the north side . 9 : 3337 

" Little Lake Creek, three houses of the 

Smackshops 10 : 3347 

« Cruzatte's River . . . . 12 : 3359 

" Grand Rapid, just below the village of 
the Yehhuh tribe of the Shahala na- 
tion, occupying fourteen wooden 
houses 6 : 3365 

'-* Clahclellah village of the Shahala na- 
tion, near the foot of the Rapids, sev- 
en houses 6 : 3371 

« Wahclellah village of the Shahala na- 
tion, twenty-three houses, just below 
the entrance of Beacon Rock Creek 6 : 3377 

At this point Tide-water commences. 

1 « the Phoca Rock in the river, sixty feet 

above water . • - • , II : 3388 



394 APPENDIX 

Total 
DJitance. 

To the Quicksand River . . . . 9 : 3397 

" Seal River 3 : 3400 

" Neechaokee village, opposite to Dia- 
mond Island 4 : 3404 

" Shahala village of twenty-five tempo- 
rary houses 12 : 3416 

" Multnomah River . . . . 14 : 3430 
" Multnomah village . . . . 6 : 3436 
" Quathlapotle village . . . . 8 : 3444 
** Towahnahiooks River . . . 1 : 3445 

«* Cathlahaw Creek and village . . 10 : 3555 
" Lower extremity of Elallah, or Deer 

Island 6 : 3461 

** Coweliske River, about the entrance 
(up this river the Skilloot nation re- 
side) 13 : 3474 

« Fanny's Island 18 : 3492 

" Sea Otter Island . . . . 10 : 3502 
" Upper village of the Wahkiacum nation 6 : 3508 
" Cathlamah village of nine large wood- 
en houses, south of Seal Islands . 14 : 3522 
" Point William, opposite Shallow Bay . 10 : 3532 
" Point Meriwether, above Meriwether 

Bay 9 : 3541 

" Clatsop village below Meriwether Bay, 
and seven miles northwest of Fort 
Clatsop . . . . . 8 : 3549 

" Point Adams, at the entrance of the 
Columbia into the Pacific Ocean, in 
latitude 46° 15' north, and longitude 
124° 57' west from Greenwich . 6 : 35.'55 

Fort Clatsop is situated on the west side of, and three 
miles up the Netul River from Meriwether Bay, and seven 
miles east from the nearest part of the seacoast : here we 
passed the winter of 1805-6. 

The length of our route in going out, by the way of the 
Missouri to its head, was 3096 miles : thence by land, fol- 
lowing Lewis's River over to Clarke's River, and down 
that river to the entrance of Traveller's Rest Creek, where 
all the different roads meet, and thence across the rugged 



APPENDIX. 395 

part vf the Rocky Mountains to the navigable waters of 
the Columbia, was 398 miles : thence down the river to 
the Pacific Ocean, making the total distance 4134 miles. 
On our return in 1806, we came from Traveller's Rest Creek 
directly to the Falls of the Missouri, which shortens the 
distance about 579 miles, and is a much better route, re- 
ducing the distance from the Mississippi to the Pacific 
Ocean to 3545 miles, 2575 miles of which distance is up 
the Missouri to the Falls of that river. 



THE END. 



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N. MANCHESTER 
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